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Caitlin Clark Nearly Got Indiana Fever in Trouble for Unbelievable Reason
Caitlin Clark Nearly Got Indiana Fever in Trouble for Unbelievable Reason originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Few would argue that Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is the most popular and marketable star in the WNBA right now.
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Clark's fame has grown so much since the Fever drafted her No. 1 overall in 2024 that she's seemingly setting ratings records every time she steps on the court.
The Fever's 93-58 season-opening win over the Chicago Sky on May 17 drew an average of 2.7 million viewers and peaked with 3.1 million viewers on ABC, making it the most-watched WNBA regular-season game on the network and overall in the last 25 years.
Last season, Clark played in the most-watched regular-season game of the season (vs. the Sky on June 3, 3.3 million viewers), he most-viewed WNBA game on any ESPN platform (vs. the Connecticut Sun on May 20, 2.97 million viewers), and the most-watched WNBA All-Star Game ever (3.44 million viewers).
But viewership wasn't the only area Clark dominated.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts to a call in the second half against the Washington Mystics at Entertainment & Sports Faith Morgan-Imagn Images
The WNBA Rookie of the Year had the best-selling jersey in the WNBA and the second-highest selling jersey across professional basketball behind only Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry, according to Fanatics.
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In fact the Fever sold so much Clark gear that the team store was actually looked into for its crazy Clark-related sales boom, according to Indiana-based journalist Travonne Edwards
'The quota has been reached in the team store to the point where they got audited,' Edwards said during an appearance on "The Right Time with Bomani Jones.'
'They sold so much [Caitlin Clark] gear that people thought it wasn't legit?' Jones asked.
'…There's a shoe that's supposed to come out — a Kobe 5 with her colorway — it's on the internet for $5,000 right now. You know how you've been to the big school, like JJ Redick played for Duke, and he gets to Orlando and that motion don't follow — this followed.'
Fortunately for the Fever, their bookkeeping was in order and the sales spike made sense once the final merchandise numbers were out.
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Clark's home Fever jersey sold out less than an hour after being drafted last year, making her the highest-selling WNBA draft pick ever.
Fanatics also reported that WNBA merchandise sales were up over 1,000% year-over-year thanks to Clark, Sky star Angel Reese, New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, and Clark's Iowa teammate Kate Martin, who played her rookie season for the Las Vegas Aces and is currently with the expansion Golden State Valkyries.
They ranked No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 in merchandise sales, respectively.
Related: It Took Caitlin Clark's Replacement Just 1 Game to Move Into Top 10 In This One Stat
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
