Column: Caitlin Clark’s impact on WNBA has shades of Michael Jordan’s on NBA

Indiana Fever G Caitlin Clark, like Basketball HOFer Michael Jordan, is a partner with Nike and Gatorade and built a multiyear collection with WilsonGetty Images

Indiana Fever G Caitlin Clark’s impact on the WNBA is “reminiscent” of Basketball HOFer Michael Jordan’s time in the NBA in terms of “mass commercial appeal, national celebrity and the ability to catapult a sport to new heights,” according to Ben Pickman of THE ATHLETIC. Sportswriter Jack McCallum said, “Clark has made a Jordan-esque impact right away.” Pickman writes Jordan and Clark “demonstrated their true earning potential in the market with landmark endorsement deals.” Both are partners with Nike and Gatorade, and a Wilson spokesperson said that while the company has “curated one-off basketballs and other smaller scale product drops” for NBA and WNBA players over the years, only Jordan and Clark have worked with the brand to “ build out multi-year collections fully.” Clark “seems likely to help drive a WNBA salary boost, much like Jordan did for the NBA.” According to Spotrac, in 1995 after Jordan’s first three-peat, the NBA salary cap “jumped” 44% — the largest single year-over-year jump in league history. Though WNBA players have “yet to see such a spike,” this season the league agreed to a landmark television rights deal worth more than $2B over 11 years. The “trickle down effect is likely to result in higher salaries” when the next CBA is enacted, perhaps “as soon as for the 2026 season” (THE ATHLETIC, 9/25).