The WNBA's Caitlin Clark Heater Continues As League Partners With DraftKings

Credit where credit is due, the WNBA continues to strike while the iron is hot. Indiana Fever rookie phenom Caitlin Clark is lining them up and the WNBA is knocking them down. After agreeing to an 11-year, $2 billion TV deal with three networks (ESPN, NBC, and Amazon), the WNBA entered a partnership with DraftKings on Thursday. 

This new deal is roughly four times higher than the WNBA's expiring TV contract, which is about $50 million per year. Details of its partnership with DraftKings are unknown at the time of publication, but the WNBA keeps falling into money. Weird, I wonder why this is happening. Oh, I know. It's because of Caitlin Clark, aka the WNBA's golden goose, who's somehow become polarizing. 

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The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft is by far the most popular player in league history. Time will tell how much Clark changes the on-court product. That said, her financial impact is clear as day. In its first 27 years, the WNBA struggled to turn a profit. For all that time, the NBA essentially ate a loss on its women's basketball investment. It's similar to how SEC schools put food on the table for the rest of their athletic programs. 

The WNBA has become flush with cash since Caitlin Clark's arrival, inking a new TV deal and partnering with DraftKings. (Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports)

However, since Clark's debut, the WNBA has been getting new fans, sponsors, and, most importantly, more money. You can refute this, yet, the numbers don't lie: OutKick readers love Caitlin Clark. I'm one of the "Clark bandwagon hoppers". Before her, I never bet or watched the WNBA. Now, I'm handicapping Indiana and non-Clark games. 

I legit might not have anything to bet while the WNBA is on its post-All-Star and Olympic break. What a time to be alive and what a time to be a WNBA investor. It only took 27 years, but the WNBA is an actual money-maker in sports, and for the NBA. And now DraftKings will get that Caitlin Clark Stimulus Check paid for by sports betting sickos like me. 

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