Just in case you were wondering whether the WNBA had finally figured out how to profit off its own Michael Jordan, a quick reminder: the league’s marketing department recently refused to even put Caitlin Clark on a promotional graphic for a primetime Indiana Fever game.
The joke is officially on them.
Newly released Fanatics retail data proves that while WNBA executives keep downplaying Caitlin Clark in their marketing, fans are overwhelmingly spending their money on her anyway.
CAITLIN CLARK’S INDIANA FEVER SOLD 90 TIMES MORE TICKETS ON STUBHUB THIS YEAR THAN IN 2023
Clark has officially locked down the No. 2 spot for the most basketball jerseys sold in the United States — ahead of global icons like LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Victor Wembanyama.
The only player selling more jerseys than Clark right now? Golden State’s Stephen Curry.
Let that sink in for a second. A third-year WNBA guard is outselling LeBron James.
Yet if you followed the WNBA’s official marketing, you’d barely know she exists.
WNBA FINALLY EMBRACES CAITLIN CLARK’S STARDOM WITH UNPRECEDENTED NATIONAL TV SCHEDULE
The retail numbers surfaced just days after the league’s social media department sparked backlash with one of the most bizarre promotional decisions imaginable.
Ahead of a highly anticipated Fever-Storm matchup, the WNBA posted a hype graphic featuring Seattle’s Zia Cooke and Indiana rookie backup guard Raven Johnson.
Noticeably absent? Caitlin Clark … the player driving record ratings, ticket demand and merchandise sales across the league.
Fans roasted the league for somehow managing to sideline the most popular player in women’s basketball while trying to promote women’s basketball.
As OutKick founder Clay Travis pointed out, the logic makes absolutely no sense in the context of sports history.
“Was Michael Jordan ever not the lead graphic on any Bulls game when he was a member of the team?” Travis asked. “You can say this is a small thing, but I would guarantee you Bill Cartwright, Luc Longley & Bill Wennington never got the promo graphic over Jordan.”
BASKETBALL LEGEND SAYS CAITLIN CLARK’S 3-POINT ONSLAUGHT LEFT HER SPEECHLESS
Then Clark did what superstars do.
Hours after being left off the graphic, she torched Seattle with a 21-point, 10-assist double-double in an 89-78 Fever win.
Meanwhile, Johnson finished scoreless in 17 minutes off the bench.
Caitlin Clark, 24, is rapidly becoming one of the biggest draws in all of American sports. She helped fuel a reported 1,000% surge in WNBA merchandise sales, turned Fever games into national events, and now sits behind only Curry in national jersey sales.
And somehow, the league still treats her like an afterthought whenever it’s time to market its own product.
The WNBA can keep trying to force-feed fans alternative stars if it wants.
But until somebody else starts moving more jerseys than LeBron James, maybe it’s time for the league to stop overthinking this, log back into Canva and put No. 22 back on the d— graphic.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
