The new Unrivaled women’s basketball league is launching next winter and already has a television contract in place with a fantastic roster of stars. The only thing it doesn’t have is Caitlin Clark.
Could that change? Reports have been circling that the league is willing to offer Clark whatever it takes to get her on board. This includes a Lionel Messi-MLS type deal that could include equity in the league.
And why wouldn’t they? Caitlin Clark is the single most significant driving force for a sport’s ratings success since Tiger Woods. But to this point, it’s all been reports and speculation. Clark hasn’t addressed her WNBA offseason plans and whether or not she would give Unrivaled a go.
And although she technically addressed Unrivaled, she didn’t have too much to say about her future plans.
Via the Indianapolis Star:
“We’ll see,” Clark told IndyStar and ESPN. “I don’t know. Just taking it as it goes, and see if I want to play eventually.”
Ok then.
Unrivaled has an open spot for Clark if and when she is ready to commit to the league. They already have a rights deal with TNT in place for their debut season, which is a massive kickstart to their hopes to continue the momentum that women’s sports – and specifically basketball – have experienced.
But although the sport has seen great growth and numbers as a whole, Clark is the driving force. Unrivaled could be a success without her, but it most certainly will be a success with her. The conventional wisdom had long been that Clark would cherish some true time off after going straight from the NCAA Tournament to the WNBA season without a real offseason. But it sounds as though she’s at least keeping the door open to see if Unrivaled will make her an offer she can’t refuse.
About Matt Yoder