WNBA commissioner calls Caitlin Clark 'the most popular athlete in America,' but stresses value of other players

Yahoo

16-05-2025

With the WNBA regular season nearly here, it's likely to be another big season for second-year Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark — and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is very aware of what Clark brings to the league.
In an interview on the Bill Simmons Podcast released on Wednesday, Engelbert recognized Clark's elevated role in the W, calling her a "generational talent." But Engelbert also noted that there's a balance between highlighting Clark and promoting other talented players in the league.
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"No league's ever got one player," Engelbert said. "In this case, Caitlin brought tens of millions of new viewers into the W and there's no denying that impact — not just in the WNBA, but the world of sports."
Engelbert mentioned an LPGA pro-am that Clark had attended as an example, speaking on how her popularity in college fueled her prevalence now, and adding that she had spoken to NBA commissioner Adam Silver about Clark's prominence. Engelbert said that viewership was up "triple digits" across demographics, and that the presence of players like Clark heavily contributed to that growth.
"Adam and I talk all the time about this, she's the most popular athlete in America," Engelbert said.
With that said, Engelbert said that it was important to showcase the other talents in the WNBA, and not to put all of the league's eggs in one basket.
"You do want to balance it, because obviously, we saw what happened with JuJu Watkins getting hurt," Engelbert said, referencing the USC star's ACL tear during March Madness. "You want to balance making sure that you're also promoting your other stars, like an A'ja WIlson, like a Breanna Stewart. Napheesa Collier killed it last year.
"That's why this year is 'sustain and gain,'" Engelbert added. "Sustain the momentum we had last year and gain even more new viewers."
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Engelbert noted that the WNBA has a unique pipeline of talented college players with pre-existing fanbases, something that has changed with the rise of social media and name, image and likeness deals.
"We had great players for a couple decades, but now, I think with social media, with NIL, with them having brands when they come in and followership, and just the quality of the game, I can't say enough about that," Engelbert said when speaking on a rise in viewership across the league.
Engelbert also mentioned Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers and Kiki Iriafen as other exciting new players in the league.
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"Brands get to know them, fans get to know them, and they come out and they thrive in the W. As hard as and as competitive as the W is, they not only have a local and regional brand, like they have in college, but they actually have a national and now a global brand," she said.
The WNBA regular season tips off on Friday with a matchup between the Minnesota Lynx and the Dallas Wings. Clark's Fever will play their first game of the 2025 season on Saturday.