Bold Clark vs. Reese claim.
'Angel Reese Is Not Selling Out Arenas in Chicago’: Caitlin Clark Book Author Gets Blunt originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
In the wake of record-breaking attendance and escalating TV ratings midway through the WNBA’s 2025 season, two of the league’s brightest stars, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, find themselves at the center of a heated debate about who truly drives the business of women’s basketball.
This past weekend’s WNBA All-Star festivities in Indiana drew an average of 2.2 million viewers for the game itself, down 36% from last year’s 3.44 million when Clark took the court, but the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest still averaged 1.3 million viewers, a near 90% jump from 2024.
League officials point to the spike in ancillary events as further proof of growing fan engagement, yet the nearly 1.24 million-viewer drop when Clark was sidelined underscores her outsized impact on viewership and ticket demand.
On Monday, veteran sports journalist Christine Brennan joined "The Robin Lundberg Show" on YouTube to discuss her new biography "On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports."
Mid-conversation, Brennan asserted that while Angel Reese is an "incredible rebounder" and "a powerful motor," she "is not selling out arenas in Chicago; Caitlin Clark is. Angel needs Caitlin to sell out. These are facts."
Since being selected first overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever, Clark has electrified arenas and airwaves alike.
On the court, she set the WNBA single-season rookie record for points, assists and 3-pointers made, became the ninth rookie to be named an All-Star starter and was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week three times and Rookie of the Month four times.
Off the court, Clark’s impact has been equally seismic: her first season drew over half a million fans to Fever games, more than the combined total of several franchises, and her recent departure due to injury prompted a notable dip in attendance and TV viewership.
Clark’s burgeoning brand has also attracted major corporate backers.
In a deal reportedly worth up to $28 million over eight years, per The Wall Street Journal, she became a cornerstone athlete for Nike’s WNBA initiatives, a partnership that extends beyond footwear into collaborative marketing campaigns.
She also holds endorsements with Wilson, State Farm, Gatorade, Bose and other national brands, underscoring her role as a new face of women’s basketball at a time when the league is negotiating historic broadcast rights.
Related: Lexie Hull Shares Honest Take on Playing Without Caitlin Clark
Related: New DeWanna Bonner Update Emerges After Release From Indiana Fever
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
