When many of us hear the “Fall Classic,” we automatically think of baseball’s World Series. I’m not sure that will be the case for future generations.
Yes, I’m being somewhat provocative with that line, but the WNBA Finals have arrived on the heels of what can only be described as a historic season for the league. Across a metric of statistics, it’s clear that America’s interest in the WNBA is at the highest point this century in large part because of Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.
Let’s start simple: Google searches. They’ve been higher this WNBA season, starting with the draft in April, than at any point since we’ve had data (2004). Searches for the WNBA are up over 300% compared to last season, up over 850% compared to five seasons ago, and have risen nearly 1,400% from a decade ago.
That is, the WNBA has been rising, and this year it really took off.
This interest has translated into revenue for the league. Attendance is up a staggering 48% from 2023. There wasn’t a single team with an average regular season home attendance of five figures (10,000+) in 2023. This season, there were six.
Leading the charge was Clark’s Fever. A little more than 4,000 people attended their average game in 2023, which ranked them second to last. This season, more than 17,000 did, a 319% rise that put them far and away ahead of any other WNBA team and ahead of five NBA teams, including the hometown Indiana Pacers.
We see the same pattern in merchandise. Sales are up 600% from last year. This includes the boost from rookie sensations Clark, who had the best-selling jersey, and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky, who had the second-best-selling jersey.
