Cam Newton Shares Wild WNBA Vs. MLB Popularity Prediction

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I think I may have just found the most ridiculous sports take of the week.

Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton went on his podcast "4th & 1 with Cam Newton" Thursday to talk about the MLB. I personally didn’t know that Newton didn’t care all that much about baseball, but he does - to a certain extent.

He only brought up professional baseball to drag it through the mud and say that it will be less popular than a currently trendy league.

"Baseball is a dying sport. I think baseball will be surpassed by (the) WNBA in 20 years," Newton said.

While it is true that baseball is not as popular as it used to be, it’s by no means a dying sport. (I sure hope baseball sticks around; not only is it my favorite sport, but I’ve got Year 2 of "Touch ‘Em All" to do!). Furthermore, Newton claiming that WNBA will surpass America’s Pastime is a gross overestimation about how popular professional women’s basketball is.

Yes, the WNBA experienced a massive spike in popularity this past season, thanks in large part to Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark. (The 16 most watched, nationally broadcasted games all featured Clark and the Fever). However, to look at those numbers and say that the WNBA is going to compete with one of the major sports is a bit of a stretch for a few reasons.

The MLB experienced major increases in several areas of viewership, including:

Caitlin Clark (22) has made the WNBA popular, but not more popular than the MLB. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

That alone means that the MLB is alive and well and still maintaining its loyal fan base. Furthermore, if you look at the WNBA’s increase in popularity, it's largely driven by Clark. What if she gets hurt? What if there are no other stars coming down the pipeline that generate as much popularity as Clark? The WNBA has its star that will put butts in seats and eyes on TVs, but counting on one player to keep viewership up is an unsustainable and risky strategy.

Both sports should be fine for the next couple of decades, but don’t expect the WNBA to surpass the MLB any time soon.

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John Simmons graduated from Liberty University hoping to become a sports journalist. He’s lived his dream while working for the Media Research Center and can’t wait to do more in this field with Outkick. He could bore you to death with his knowledge of professional ultimate frisbee, and his one life goal is to find Middle Earth and start a homestead in the Shire. He’s still working on how to make that happen.