Caitlin Clark is a standout player for the Indiana Fever who has captured the attention of fans and sports enthusiasts alike. But just how popular is she?
According to data presented by ESPN’s research team, Clark is the fourth ‘most favorited’ active athlete in sports today.
The other three ahead of her on this list are incredibly understandable selections, borderline icons of their respective sports. But to see a WNBA player on this list is remarkable.
According to Flora Kelly, the vice president of research at ESPN, the only athletes more ‘favorited’ than Clark are a couple of basketball players and a golfer you might be familiar with.
“Based on ESPN personalization data, the WNBA has seen the largest YoY growth (+47%) among sports with 1M+ favorites,” Kelly wrote on X.
“Caitlin Clark led all players with +373% MoM growth to become the 4th most-favorited active athlete, only behind LeBron James, Tiger Woods and Steph Curry.”
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Caitlin Clark The 4th Most Popular Athlete?
While it’s difficult to see where ESPN gets that data from and how a ‘favorited’ athlete is determined – Are they likes on X, Facebook, or other social media platforms? – it remains a pretty remarkable feat for a WNBA player to be amongst those other three names.
Equally as impressive are the athletes behind Clark. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Taylor Swift’s latest boyfriend, Travis Kelce. Lionel Messi? Serena Williams?
Are they in the top four? No. It’s a guard out of Iowa who is one of the most popular athletes today, Caitlin Clark.
Nobody could have seen that coming even a few months ago. The hype is real. The people have spoken. And they are loving them some Caitlin fever.
Where’s Angel?
It’d be interesting to see where Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese lands on that list. Reese, after all, has famously insisted she’s just as important to the rise of the WNBA as Clark.
“I know I’ll go down in history. I’ll look back in 20 years and be like: ‘Yeah, the reason why we’re watching women’s basketball isn’t just because of one person. It’s because of me, too,’” Reese said. “And I want you to realize that.”
But perhaps she should realize that the ratings and the ticket sales are predominantly because of her rival.
The Caitlin Clark effect is in full swing when it comes to the ratings. She has participated in five of the six most-watched WNBA games on TV this season. Fever ticket sales on the road are unmatched.
She is what they say in the movie biz – a box office juggernaut.
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