Caitlin Clark is currently averaging 22.1 points, 8.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game while helping the Fever win 24 games so far this season.
While her supporters see her as one of the greatest athletes in sports, not everyone believes the league depends on her as much as some suggest.
The Sports World Is Not Happy With a Recent Report on Caitlin Clark
That debate intensified after the Toronto Sun published a report by Steve Simmons on August 17 after the game against the Toronto Tempo, which the Fever won 101-95. He argued why Clark could be considered the most important player in all of sports.
Simmons explored several factors behind Clark’s influence, including the “Caitlin Clark effect,” her role in boosting viewership and ticket sales, and the way she has continued developing as a player.
“There has never been a professional athlete in North American team sports who has changed her league and the business of her sport the way Clark has in three WNBA seasons. No one has done this before. Not Joe Namath. Not Wilt Chamberlain.”
“Not Magic Johnson or Larry Bird. Not Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux. Clark may not be the best player in the WNBA — we’ll toss that baton to A’ja Wilson for now — but she and her Indiana Fever are the greatest attraction in the women’s game,” Simmons wrote in his article.
The article quickly made its way around social media. One sports content creator shared the report on X and suggested that if Clark ever left the WNBA, the league’s ratings would simply fall off a cliff.
“If Patrick Mahomes or LeBron James retired tomorrow, their leagues wouldn’t skip a beat commercially. If Caitlin Clark steps away, WNBA ratings and arena attendance drop off a cliff. That is why she is the single most valuable athlete on Earth right now,” the creator wrote on X.
🏀 If Patrick Mahomes or LeBron James retired tomorrow, their leagues wouldn’t skip a beat commercially. If Caitlin Clark steps away, WNBA ratings and arena attendance drop off a cliff. That is why she is the single most valuable athlete on Earth right now. 📈🏀 https://t.co/iYS93OYu8h
— LouXpress (@LouXpress) August 18, 2026
However, plenty from the sports world were not convinced that Clark’s absence would automatically cause the WNBA’s popularity to collapse.
Clark endured a brutal 2025 season with the Fever, missing 31 games due to leg, quad, and groin injuries. Before the setbacks piled up, she averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per outing.
Despite her extended absence, the league didn’t miss a beat. The WNBA posted its most-watched regular season and postseason ever on ESPN’s networks, with regular-season games pulling in an average of 1.3 million viewers, a 6% jump from the year before, and postseason coverage averaging 1.2 million, up 5% year-over-year, according to Nielsen figures.
One influencer pushed back hard on the premise itself by writing, “You know she barely played last year and numbers still were the same.”
🏀 If Patrick Mahomes or LeBron James retired tomorrow, their leagues wouldn’t skip a beat commercially. If Caitlin Clark steps away, WNBA ratings and arena attendance drop off a cliff. That is why she is the single most valuable athlete on Earth right now. 📈🏀 https://t.co/iYS93OYu8h
— LouXpress (@LouXpress) August 18, 2026
Players such as A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Mitchell and Allisha Gray have established themselves as major names in the league, giving the WNBA a deep collection of talent beyond Clark.
Still, the influencer behind the original post doubled down on the larger claim. He described Clark as the “most valuable athlete on earth.” Not everyone was on his side, as another user wrote, “‘That is why she is the single most valuable athlete on Earth right now.’ Get TF out of here.”
🏀 If Patrick Mahomes or LeBron James retired tomorrow, their leagues wouldn’t skip a beat commercially. If Caitlin Clark steps away, WNBA ratings and arena attendance drop off a cliff. That is why she is the single most valuable athlete on Earth right now. 📈🏀 https://t.co/iYS93OYu8h
— LouXpress (@LouXpress) August 18, 2026
On infleuncer took a totally different approach. They stated that Clark’s influence on the WNBA, directly with athletes in other major sports leagues, is difficult because the WNBA remains financially smaller than leagues such as the NBA and NFL.
“No, that’s not how logic works. You’re comparing something of true massive commercial scale (NBA/NFL) to something of far smaller scale (WNBA) as if the proportional drop-offs are measuring the same kind of ‘value.’ That’s a false equivalence logical fallacy,” the user wrote.
🏀 If Patrick Mahomes or LeBron James retired tomorrow, their leagues wouldn’t skip a beat commercially. If Caitlin Clark steps away, WNBA ratings and arena attendance drop off a cliff. That is why she is the single most valuable athlete on Earth right now. 📈🏀 https://t.co/iYS93OYu8h
— LouXpress (@LouXpress) August 18, 2026
For Clark’s supporters, however, the numbers surrounding her influence remain difficult to dismiss. Yet the reaction to Simmons’ article shows that there is still no consensus over just how much the league depends on its biggest young star.
