Money Madness: 5 ways Caitlin Clark fever is paying off

Women’s March Madness is full of stars this year but one stands out above the rest. Iowa standout Caitlin Clark is the must-see attraction, pulling more eyeballs than last year’s NBA Finals average viewership, the World Series, and nearly every college football game. The sports world is in the Caitlin Clark business and it’s paying off. 

“Iowa was a great team but Caitlin Clark is the reason we tuned in,” NBA superstar LeBron James said.

As Iowa gets ready to take on UConn and Paige Bueckers in the Final Four, here are five ways people are cashing in on Caitlin Clark.

Caitlin Clark herself

College basketball’s all-time leading scorer has scored about $3.2 million in NIL deals this year, according to On3. Her deals rank fourth behind sports royalty offspring Bronny James, Shedeur Sanders and social media sensation Livvy Dunne. Clark’s lucrative deals include Nike, Gatorade and State Farm.

Ice Cube also confirmed on social media that his up-and-coming BIG3 league extended a $5 million offer to Caitlin Clark, which would allow her to also play in the WNBA.

We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship. But I won’t deny what’s now already out there: BIG3 made a historic
offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn’t we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3. https://t.co/cwzHh7EVau

— Ice Cube (@icecube) March 27, 2024

Sports betting

Gamblers are setting records with Caitlin Clark. FanDuel says the Elite Eight LSU-Iowa game was the biggest betting event of all time for women’s sports.

The Angel Reese-Clark rematch drew in 28% more money than their title game last year, where Reese came out victorious. This time, Clark dropped 41 points, drained nine three-pointers, and moves on to take on another college basketball star in the Final Four, UConn’s Bueckers.

Attendance records

The icon-heavy women’s tournament is setting records for fans in stands. The sellout crowds shattered records for the third consecutive season. Nearly 300,000 fans watched the first- and second-round games alone, a 26% increase over the previous year’s peak.

Fans in Iowa City topped all other hosting sites and the Caitlin effect doesn’t stop in college. The WNBA’s Indiana Fever is seeing a spike in ticket sales. The team has the No. 1 overall pick this year with Caitlin Clark headed to the league.

Ticket prices

It’s getting pricey to see these female superstars on the court. Their popularity is pushing resale ticket prices through the roof. The average cost to get into the women’s Final Four is $2,323, while the men’s tournament is taking in less than half at $1,001, according to Logitix.

Call it “Clarkonomics.”

TV ratings

Iowa’s Elite Eight victory over LSU shattered TV viewing records. With 12.3 million viewers tuning in, it wasn’t just the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history, but one of the most-viewed games in any sport other than the NFL this past year.

At 12.3 million viewers, last night's Iowa-LSU game had more viewers than:

• Any women's CBB game ever
• The 2023 NBA Finals
• The 2023 World Series
• The 2023 Orange Bowl
• The 2023 Big Ten Championship
• The 2023 Cotton Bowl
• The 2023 Pac-12 Championship
• The 2023… pic.twitter.com/mOBgwtOMMQ

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 2, 2024

The Reese-Clark showdown topped the 11.8 million people who tuned in to watch USC great Cheryl Miller take on now-LSU coach Kim Mulkey in the 1983 championship. 

ESPN has been getting a steal of a deal airing the women’s tournament. They recently signed an 8-year extension worth $65 million a year, which Sportico said is 12 times the current deal’s average annual rate. The higher rate won’t take effect until next season when Clark will be in the WNBA. Meanwhile, CBS and Turner pay around $1 billion per year to collectively air the men’s tournament.