Will there be a WNBA season? While nothing is certain, fans and owners should be concerned that WNBPA members gave consent to the group’s executive committee to call for a strike if negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement break down.
Everyone with a vested interest in the league would suffer if that happens. Team owners would miss game revenue during a time when tickets have never been in higher demand. Players would miss exposure during a time when new eyes and new sponsors are coming to the league. Fans would miss out on competitive basketball.
All of them would lose something, but no one would lose as much as Caitlin Clark.
I will admit that I do not understand what has made Clark the singular force muscling the WNBA into pop culture discussions. How does anyone like “shoot it from the logo” basketball? It’s boring. It has made every level of both men’s and women’s basketball worse. Drive to the bucket and get put on your ass like an adult, or get off my TV screen!
What I think doesn’t matter, though. I’m not a fan of Steph Curry either, but just like Curry, Caitlin Clark has become famous for being able to sink a shot from anywhere and parlayed that fame into her own brand.
Forget Curry! Nike clearly sees Jordan’s potential in the CC brand. That was made clear by the Christmas Day ad, which featured a ton of star cameos and a pretty sick logo.
Nike launches Caitlin Clark’s first “brand anthem” commercial ahead of her 2026 CC Signature collection launch:
“From Anywhere.”
Starring: @CaitlinClark22 / @trvisXX / @tkelce / @JasonKelce / Michael Che & Lisa Bluder pic.twitter.com/KHcAgkBFLY
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) December 25, 2025
The athleisure wear is available now. The much-anticipated shoe could hit store shelves this summer. Boy, would it help to have Clark on the court at that time.
Caitlin Clark is not the best player in the WNBA. That’s clearly A’ja Wilson. But Clark is the biggest brand in basketball right now. The WNBA is full of stars, but her presence has pushed the league’s growth into overdrive.
What happens to that brand if she goes a year and a half without being on the court? Remember that Clark missed most of the 2025 season with multiple groin injuries.
Set Clark’s own brand aside for a second. What about the WNBA? Yes, the league is on an upward trajectory, but what happens if there are two years with little to no action from its biggest star? As much as Clark is a brand unto herself, any knock to the WNBA’s standing will hurt her too.
Major League Baseball had decades of romance and myth-making behind it. That sport still needed the 1998 home run record chase that captivated America to help it bounce back after its own 1994 labor stoppage. I’m not sure something like that exists for the WNBA.
I can’t say what it is that Clark can or should do. Does she have the juice to bring entities to the table that can fast-track negotiations? Would she and her team make overtures to get WNBA TV partners Disney, Amazon, or NBCUniversal to throw their weight around? Could Clark reach out directly to Adam Silver in hopes that the NBA Commissioner could override or influence the positions of Cathy Englebert, the WNBA Commissioner, who is not only unpopular but has also been downright antagonistic toward the players? No one involved with WNBA CBA negotiations can afford for a season to be lost or shortened right now, but Clark should be particularly motivated to see a new deal get done.
Unlike many of her WNBA counterparts, the former Iowa star has not been recruited by alternatives. She hasn’t signed up for the first two seasons of Unrivaled. This 3-on-3 league will feature Napheesa Collier, Brenna Stewart, Paige Bueckers, and Fever teammates Lexie Hull, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell, just to name a few. She also isn’t involved in the new Project B league, in spite of efforts from another Fever teammate, Sophie Cunningham, to get her on board. So far, she has resisted not just overtures from these leagues, but likely millions of dollars that would come with them.
When asked about Project B earlier this month, she said her plan was simply to play in the WNBA.
Caitlin Clark’s thoughts on Project B:
“I think more than anything it showcases what people think of women’s basketball….. people are really believing and putting their money where their mouth is….”
“I plan to play in the WNBA. Obviously, that’s another thing that we need…
— Sara Jane Gamelli (@SaraJGamelli) December 12, 2025
If there’s no WNBA in 2026, there’s no Caitlin Clark either. And that should concern everyone in the sport. To grow the fanbase, games have to be played with the biggest stars on the biggest platforms. Despite the potential of startup leagues elsewhere, none will be able to match what Clark and the WNBA can do if they take the floor.
Clark can turn her outsized celebrity into outsized influence to raise WNBA players’ wages, improve travel conditions, and keep teams on the court. It will be good for the league, good for Caitlin Clark, and good for women’s basketball.
About Demetri Ravanos