WNBA All-Star ratings plummet further showcases Caitlin Clark effect

The Caitlin Clark-effect is real for the WNBA as the ratings came out following the WNBA All-Star Game over the weekend. Without Clark in action for, appropriately named, Team Clark, the game saw a dip compared to the 2024 edition.

Still, the average of 2.2 million viewers for Saturday night’s game was up 158% compared to the 2023 edition, per ESPN PR. It was the second-most watched WNBA All-Star Game in history.

SBJ’s Austin Karp pointed out the stark reality though. Clark is the breadwinner of the league and it’s evident when she’s missed time due to injury this season. Numbers are up, but not as good compared to when Clark is the main attraction.

“Caitlin Clark effect manifests itself in 2 ways: Anything with Clark, then without, drops hard. NCAA title game -54%. Draft -49%. All-Star -36%. Regular-season -50% during her time out (but still up for 2025),” Karp wrote on Twitter/X. “Numbers even without Caitlin well above years before her arrival.”

Last season, there were 3.44 million viewers for the WNBA All-Star Game. This past weekend, it dipped 36% down to 2.19 million viewers, first reported by Front Office Sports. Team Collier defeated Team Clark, without the second-year superstar, 151-131 Saturday night.

The larger issue surrounding the WNBA is their current CBA negotiation. The players came out for warmups sporting tee-shirts saying “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”

Clark took an apparent shot from fellow all-star Kelsey Plum, who described the shirts postgame with Sabrina Ionescu. She claimed Team Clark wasn’t quite on the same page with the statement at first.

“It was a very powerful moment,” Plum told reporters after the game. “As players, we didn’t know that that was going to happen. It was a genuine surprise. The T-shirt was determined this morning. Not to tattletale: zero members of Team Clark were very present for that.”

Granted, that stirred social media debates about whether or not WNBA players deserve the same pay as NBA players, which spiraled into the semantics of what they actually meant. With expansion in the league, players feel if franchises are much more valuable these days, they feel they are owed a bigger piece of a growing pie.

“WNBA All-Star capts. Napheesa Collier & Caitlin Clark addressing the media right now,” Annie Costabile of FOS said via X during All-Star Weekend. “Both have fielded questions on the CBA. Clark said players are fortunate to have lucrative deals off the court, but they’re fighting for better W paychecks as the league continues to grow.”