Caitlin Clark is the biggest ratings driver in the WNBA (and perhaps all of sports). That’s been established time and again over the last year. The full picture of the Caitlin Clark Effect not only involves the lift she provides but also the reverse effect on the WNBA and the Indiana Fever when she’s out.

There have been just two instances when Clark has been out since she was drafted with the No. 1 pick last year: the 2024 WNBA playoffs after the Fever were eliminated in the first round and the previous two weeks of the current regular season. The 23-year-old has missed the last five Fever games due to a quad injury, the first time she’s missed regular-season action in college or the pros.

2024 WNBA Playoffs

Game 1 of the Fever vs. Connecticut Sun series last year drew 1.8 million on ABC, though it landed on an NFL Sunday, while Game 2 drew 2.5 million viewers on ESPN. Both drew more than the average of the five-game WNBA Finals (1.54 million) between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, two of which aired on ABC while three were on ESPN. 

The 2024 WNBA Finals, however, still saw a 115% viewership increase over the previous year.

2025 Regular Season

Ratings for four of the five Fever games Clark has missed:

• May 28: 357,000 viewers (at Washington Mystics, NBA TV)
• May 30: 851,000 viewers (vs. Sun, Ion)
• June 3: 330,000 viewers (vs. Mystics, NBA TV)
• June 7: 1.92 million viewers (at Chicago Sky, CBS)

There were some significant wins among those numbers despite Clark’s absence. The May 28 contest cracked the top 10 among most-watched games on NBA TV. The game against the Sun was the most-watched WNBA game of the season on Ion. Saturday’s game against the Sky is the third-most-watched WNBA game of the season—and the third-most-watched game on CBS ever.

No Clark, No Spark?

However, Fever viewership has still clearly dipped in her absence. The two NBA TV games without Clark averaged 343,500 viewers, down about 40% from the Fever vs. Dream game on NBA TV on May 20 (581,000 viewers). Sunday’s game against the Sky was down about 30% from the May 17 game against the Sky on ABC (though that was the season opener).

The other Fever game on CBS this season was against the defending-champion Liberty, and it drew 2.22 million viewers on May 24, the last game Clark played before her injury. It was also the second-most-watched WNBA game since Clark was drafted that didn’t have Indiana against Chicago.

Clark is expected to return to the court soon—perhaps Saturday against New York, a game that will air on ABC. Fever head coach Stephanie White said Monday that Clark’s been “ready to start ramping back up,” though she has yet to be a full participant in practice.

The NFL is upping its equity stake in data company Genius Sports, further expanding the scope of one of the league’s largest and most important outside investments. 

As part of a two-year contract extension the league and Genius Sports unveiled on Wednesday that stretches into early 2030, the NFL will gain an additional 9.5 million stock warrants in the publicly traded company, 4.5 million of which vest immediately, and the other 5 million in April 2028. At current market rates, that equity stake is worth more than $90 million. 

The latest batch of equity, joined with undisclosed license fees in the deal, adds to an initial set of 14.5 million warrants the NFL holds, which were gained after Genius Sports struck its first deal in 2021 to be the exclusive distributor of official league data. That older stake is now worth about $140 million.

Once the latest batch of warrants vests entirely, the NFL is poised to own about 8.7% of Genius Sports, making the league the company’s largest shareholder and deepening a tie in which the company’s data is used across a series of betting, media, and fan engagement settings. Many of the NFL’s other licensees and business partners purchase Genius Sports data, further intertwining several parts of league operations.

Additional regulatory responsibilities, however, kick in once the equity threshold in a public company reaches 10%, so it will bear watching whether other moves are made to keep the league under that level. 

“The NFL delivers a tremendous platform to accelerate our business, and we are thrilled to extend and grow our strategic partnership,” Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke said in a statement. 

The league’s stake in Genius Sports could have been even larger, as a prior extension signed in 2023 originally called for 4 million additional warrants, but that contract term was subsequently altered to convert that payment to cash. Another batch of 4 million warrants was gained in the first deal signed in 2021, but were likely sold or redistributed to individual teams earlier this year.

As for the stock itself, Genius Sports shares have risen more than 80% in the last year to nearly $10 per share, helping reverse some of the drop of about 90% between April 2021 and July 2022. Collectively, the vested and unvested stake for the NFL in Genius Sports is now worth more than $230 million. 

Broader Mission

The Genius Sports equity holding is part of a still-growing NFL venture portfolio that has included investments in major entities such as Fanatics and NFL Sunday Ticket commercial distributor EverPass Media. 

“Across data, video, advertising, and integrity services, Genius has proven to be an important strategic partner,” said NFL VP of business development and strategic investments Brent Lawton in a statement.

OAKMONT, Pa. — The U.S. Open is not increasing its prize money for the first time since 2021.

But the tournament will again offer a record-tying $21.5 million, the same amount as last year, which is still the largest purse among the four major championships. The winner at Oakmont Country Club will pocket $4.3 million, like Bryson DeChambeau did in 2024 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.

“We want to be relevant,” USGA CEO Mike Whan said Wednesday. “We understand the competitive set. We know that this probably isn’t really about the money for the [winner], but at the same time, we want the money to be commensurate with the achievement.”

The U.S. Open purse was $12.5 million from 2019 to 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic severely reduced revenue across professional golf. But it jumped to $17.5 million in 2022, $20 million in 2023, and then $21.5 million in 2024.

“I feel comfortable that we’ve been a leader in moving fast and bigger,” Whan said.

Cash Flow

After the U.S. Open, the next closest major purse is the $21 million that The Masters offered in April. The PGA Championship handed out $19 million. The Open Championship (also known as the British Open) hasn’t announced the prize money total for next month’s tournament, but last year it paid out $17 million.

The Players Championship remains the richest tournament in golf. The PGA Tour’s flagship event, held annually at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., has had a $25 million purse for the past two years. Rory McIlroy won a record-tying $4.5 million first-place prize in March.

The PGA Tour’s eight signature events continue to pay out $20 million purses, which they have done since their inception in 2023. LIV Golf tournaments also have $20 million purses for individual tournaments, as well as $5 million purses for the simultaneous team competitions.