The WNBA Is Growing Fast — But Is It Fumbling Its Biggest Marketing Opportunity?

INDIANAPOLIS — As WNBA All-Star Weekend descends on Indianapolis, the league has every reason to celebrate. Viewership is up. Merch is flying off shelves like it never has before. Games are selling out. A massive Nike ad featuring Caitlin Clark spans 30 floors on the side of the JW Marriott downtown. The spotlight on women's basketball has never been brighter.

But behind all that momentum is a growing sense of unease: Is the WNBA making the most of its moment, or is it fumbling the bag?

‘You Get a Player Like This Once in a Generation’

From Dave Portnoy to Candace Parker and Cheryl Miller, critics have argued that the WNBA simply "can't get out of its own way."

To investigate these claims, OutKick spoke with Tony Nash, founder of AZEE Branding Solutions. As someone who has built a career helping brands connect with consumers, he knows the difference between marketing noise and marketing impact. And when it comes to the WNBA, he thinks the league is blowing a golden opportunity.

"I think the WNBA is seriously fumbling the bag," Nash said. "You get a player like Caitlin Clark once in a generation… yet, the WNBA is almost afraid to put this player out front."

Nash admitted he never watched the WNBA until he and his basketball-player daughter started following Clark's rise at Iowa. "We got really into it," he said. "Her senior year, we followed her religiously and thought, ‘This girl is going to change women's basketball.'"

Since then, he’s become a regular WNBA viewer. "Now I watch a ton of WNBA games," he said. "And I have other players that I'm now a fan of, who I didn't even know existed — never even heard their names. And I think that's what's happening all around the league."

To Nash, that's the definition of brand growth — turning casual viewers into consistent consumers. But he believes the league is hesitating to fully embrace Clark's popularity.

"It appears to me that it has something to do with race or something. I don't know if that's it," he said. "But a lot of the other players seem to have an issue with the attention she's getting, and the WNBA is not finding ways to capitalize. They're missing a ton of opportunity."

WNBA Responds: Growth By the Numbers

WNBA Chief Marketing Officer Phil Cook sees things differently.

"We view our branding and marketing strategy as intentional, collaborative and forward-looking," Cook told OutKick. "The growth we're seeing across all key metrics — viewership, attendance, merchandise sales and engagement —shows that our strategy is resonating, and we're only getting stronger from here."

The numbers back him up. National viewership is up 9% year-over-year. Attendance has risen 26%, with sold-out arenas becoming the norm. Merchandise sales on WNBAShop.com are up 40%, while WNBA gear is now available in all 740 DICK'S Sporting Goods locations nationwide. Social media video views are up 28%, and All-Star voting shattered records with 19.2 million votes — 10 times more than just two years ago.

"With historic growth comes the challenge of scaling quickly," Cook said. "But it's one we're meeting head-on."

DICK'S Sporting Goods is just one of many sponsorship activations at WNBA Live in Indianapolis.

(Amber Harding Snyder)

The league has made intentional efforts to highlight its rising stars. Clark, Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu and Arike Ogunbowale were all featured in preseason games at their alma maters. The Commissioner's Cup content pulled in 55 million video views. Reese became a cover model for NBA 2K26.

"We view stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese as powerful drivers of league growth," Cook said. "At the same time, we're committed to elevating all 156 WNBA players because the league is strongest when all players are visible, celebrated and shaping the game's future together."

The Caitlin Clark Effect Is Real

It's undeniable that since she was drafted No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in 2024, Clark has brought unprecedented money and attention to a league that has failed to turn a profit in its 28 seasons of existence. 

"I always say, if people don't know you, you have a marketing problem. But if people don't choose you, you have a branding problem," Nash said. "Everybody knew that WNBA existed, and yet nobody was choosing to watch it."

Until Clark came along, anyway.

Caitlin Clark has brought unprecedented attention to the WNBA and women's basketball in general.

(Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images)

Still, the Fever star's meteoric rise has exposed tension between the league's commitment to collective visibility and the public's demand for a clear face of the league. Despite leading all WNBA players in All-Star fan votes — and being named a captain for Saturday's game — Clark ranked just ninth among guards in the player vote.

Meanwhile, public figures like Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve have made their discomfort known. Last year, Reeve posted (and later deleted) a tweet with the hashtags "#theWismorethanoneplayer" and "#12teams" in response to league coverage focusing heavily on Clark. 

After Clark signed a reported $28 million endorsement deal with Nike in 2024, the brand caught significant backlash for choosing to partner with white players — like, Clark, Ionescu and Elena Delle Donne — while three-time league MVP A'ja Wilson still didn't have a signature shoe. (Nike announced Wilson's signature shoe just a month later.)

These are just a couple of countless examples of times when the league and their partner brands faced pushback for attempting to cash in on Clark's immense popularity.

"There’s so many things that they could be doing to capitalize on this moment, to really grow their brand," Nash said. "And yet, I think whatever it is that's allowing them — or that’s forcing them — to kind of keep her in the background is really hurting their brand."

Is The WNBA Too Nice For The Big Stage?

Another issue that seems to be holding back the WNBA is the league's insistence on treating its players with kid gloves, seemingly looking to shield them from scrutiny or criticism.

RELATED: Christine Brennan Confirms The Obvious: WNBA Players Can't Handle Real Media Coverage

During the conversation with OutKick, Nash pointed to a disconnect between how the WNBA handles criticism and how male sports stars are treated.

"As I started watching the WNBA, I honestly feel like a lot of die-hard WNBA fans… it's like they've never watched other sports," Nash explained. "Because in every other sport, the media is so critical of the players."

He described attending a Fever-Sky game on opening day, where Commissioner Cathy Engelbert appeared on the screen pregame, lecturing fans with a message about supporting "love and not hate."

"I'm like, dude — this is an arena," Nash said. "People are going to boo players. People are going to yell things. They're going to heckle you. That's a professional athlete. And for whatever reason, it doesn’t seem like the WNBA at large understands that."

Nash explained that while there's obviously no room for blatant hate speech, good-natured heckling is a part of the live sports experience.

WNBA Has Reached A Fork In The Road

None of this means the WNBA isn't making progress. It is — and fast. The product is getting better. The fan base is growing. And the players, especially the younger ones, are becoming more recognizable by the day. 

But the league is at a crossroads: Should it embrace its new stars, even if it risks internal friction? Or continue trying to spread the spotlight evenly and risk losing momentum?

"Maybe the league is trying to show deference to some of the other players and to not over accentuate a new player, because they don't want to hurt the feelings or the egos or diminish what they've done," Nash said. 

"But I think, again, there has to be, as an organization, a concerted effort to say, 'This wave of momentum may not be here forever.' …The WNBA has to find a way to navigate the waters and utilize this to really propel that brand to the next level."

WNBA All-Star Weekend takes place July 18-19 in Indianapolis.

(Amber Harding Snyder)

All-Star Weekend is still a major showcase for the league, but it just lost its brightest star. 

On Thursday, the Fever announced that Caitlin Clark has re-aggravated a groin injury and will not participate in the 3-point contest or Saturday's All-Star Game. The timing is tough. With national attention and a sold-out arena in her home city, Clark's absence will be felt. 

But the questions remain: Can the WNBA seize this moment of unprecedented visibility — and will it embrace the stars who are drawing eyeballs to the game? Or will the league truly "fumble the bag"?