Caitlin Clark is Changing How the World Views Women’s Basketball

Caitlin Clark has risen to stardom rapidly over the last few seasons, but what she is doing this year is something we have never seen in women’s basketball. Iowa took down familiar foe, LSU, on Monday night behind Caitlin Clark’s 41-point performance. She is arguably the most famous athlete in America right now and many basketball fans are comparing her unbelievable range and skills to Steph Curry. I can’t deny that those comparisons are warranted as Caitlin Clark’s 3-point baskets are on average, 4 feet beyond the 3-point line.

Some Notable Caitlin Clark Records

• All-time NCAA Division I men's and women's scoring leader

• NCAA single-season and career record for 3-pointers

• Became first player in men's or women's NCAA tournament history to record a 30 or 40-point triple-double

• Led NCAA Division I in scoring as a freshman

• Most career assists and 3-point baskets in NCAA tournament history

Clark is also cashing in on her stardom through multiple NIL deals. Her NIL worth is $3.1 million according to ON3. She has partnerships with 11 different companies such as Gatorade, State Farm, and Nike. Barring a crazy situation, Caitlin Clark will get drafted first overall in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever on April 15th, 2024. The first four picks in the WNBA draft will likely sign a four year contract worth around $350,000. This figure pales in comparison to what she is making in endorsement deals. Her sponsors will likely not go away once she leaves Iowa, but her NIL valuation proves her value off the court as well as on it.

Women’s basketball has seen incredible growth this year. The 2023-24 season saw a 37 percent increase in year-over-year viewership across ESPN platforms. This is in large part due to Caitlin Clark, but also we have seen other players like Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, and Paige Bueckers help their respective teams rise to fame in their own right. The future of women’s basketball is certainly in good hands.

The MLB’s Opening Weekend Has Fans Angry

This past weekend marked the start of this year’s major league baseball season. For what is usually the start of the best time of year for baseball fans has been soured by the likes of MLB’s commissioner, Rob Manfred. Thursday was the opening day for the season and it also fell on the same day as the Sweet Sixteen for March Madness. Most MLB fans thought that logically the games would fall earlier in the day and most importantly, they would have multiple nationally televised games to feed into the hype that is opening day. The Chicago Cubs vs Texas Rangers game was the only nationally televised game of the day, and first pitch came at the same time as tip-off for the UConn vs San Diego State Sweet Sixteen Matchup.

Another major complaint among MLB fans, especially among young fans, is the regional blackouts. Regional blackouts make it so that you are unable to watch your local MLB team unless you have purchased a cable plan that has the local channel. Even if you purchase MLB.tv, the league's streaming service, you still won’t be able to watch in-market games. The local blackouts are for two main reasons, and the first reason is cable providers' desire for exclusive broadcasting rights in their local networks. The second is MLB's desire to get fans into the stadium for attendance purposes. The main issue is that for many fans, the closest MLB stadium is hours away from their hometown. The worst state blackout-wise is Iowa, which is blacked out by six teams: Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Royals, Twins, and the White Sox, even though all are a multi-hour drive to see any of the teams in person.

Fans are getting increasingly annoyed with how the MLB has handled broadcasts over the last few years. Since the inception of the pitch clock, viewership is actually up as a whole, even though watching games has become harder and harder. Once they are able to fix their blackout issue, the decline of viewership in the World Series is also a major concern as average viewership was just a shade over 9 million for 2023, the worst viewership numbers ever.

The F1 is here to stay in America

The Formula 1 race that took place in Las Vegas in November proved to be a big hit, chaos aside, not just from the fans but also from the city of Las Vegas. Ticket sales may not have been as high as they wanted them to be, but many fans are eager to return for this year’s race. Las Vegas has released a 40-page report breaking down the economic impact of last year's Formula 1 race and it seems to be only positive things economically.

• The total economic impact has been measured at $1.5 billion, including visitor spending of $884 million.

• The race generated $77 million in tax revenue — more than any other event in Las Vegas history.

• The event created 7,300 jobs, including 2,200 for race-related construction projects and 5,100 for event operations.

Formula 1 also now has events in Miami and Austin. New York City and Chicago have been rumored destinations for future Formula 1 events, but nothing has yet been confirmed. The 2023 season ended as the second most-watched F1 season on U.S. TV, drawing in an average of 1.1 million viewers over the 22 races. This is almost double the 554,000 average recorded in 2018. Most of this success can be attributed to Netflix’s Drive to Survive which first aired back in spring of 2019. Although there has been a slight drop in numbers from the 2022 season, many fans think that the popularity of the sport will only increase as more events are added in the United States.

The next step, I believe, is to get more American fans to buy in, and having an American driver that is competing week in and week out would do that. Logan Sargeant is the only current American that races in Formula 1, but he is considered one of, if not the worst driver in the field. Americans like to support Americans. There is no direct “solution” for the problem, but increasing the popularity will in turn get more Americans interested in becoming Formula 1 drivers.

Quick Reads

• It’s rumored Jerry Jones could be selling the Cowboys next off-season.

• LSU vs IOWA was the most watched women’s college basketball game of all time.

• Oakland is prepared to offer the Athletics a new lease until 2027, when the team's Las Vegas ballpark opens.

• The Cleveland Guardians announced a $200 million stadium renovation.

• The Washington Nationals and Washington Capitals announce their plans to relocate their stadiums to Virginia have fallen through

Best Games of the Week

• #11 Marquette vs #1 Purdue - Saturday @ 6:09

• #4 Alabama vs #1 UConn - Saturday @ 8:49

• #3 UConn vs #1 Iowa - Friday @ 9:00

• Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks - Tuesday @ 7:30

• Chelsea vs Manchester United - Thursday @ 3:15

Job Openings in Sports

• Partnership Marketing Coordinator - Philadelphia Union (Chester, PA)

• Staff Accountant - LA Galaxy (Carson, CA)

• Game Day Bilingual Babysitter - Philadelphia Phillies (Philadelphia, PA)

• Assistant Graphic Designer - Colorado Rockies (Denver, CO)

• Communications Coordinator Intern - Lancaster Inferno (Lancaster, PA - Open to Remote)

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