Caitlin Clark’s superstardom is unprecedented in the world of women’s sports.
Since her WNBA entrance as the Indiana Fever’s No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, Clark has facilitated countless TV viewership and in-person attendance records for the league. The NCAA’s all-time leading scorer electrified the sports world in her debut professional season, setting several all-time league records and winning Rookie of the Year.
While Clark missed the majority of the 2025 WNBA season with a variety of injury issues, she remains one of the most influential athletes in the world.
On Wednesday, Forbes released its inaugural 2025 list of America’s Most Powerful Women in Sports.
Clark ranks No. 4 on the list, trailing only New Orleans Saints/Pelicans owner Gayle Benson, FanDuel CEO Amy Howe and Nike Brand president Amy Montagne.
Clark is the top-ranked active athlete on the list, leading a prestigious group featuring names like Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Coco Gauff, A’ja Wilson, Simone Biles and Nelly Korda.
More Basketball: Timberwolves Announce Troubling Anthony Edwards Injury News
“Caitlin Clark has turned her record-breaking college basketball career into early dominance in the WNBA,” Forbes writes in its description of Clark. “Her estimated $8.1 million in income from her rookie season with the Indiana Fever was bolstered by big deals with Nike, Wilson and Gatorade and signals a shift in how female athletes are being valued in the world of professional sports.
“Last month, the Fever announced that Clark would be sidelined with an injury for the remainder of the WNBA season to focus on her recovery, but the injury doesn’t change the fact that Clark has, in the last two years, been the spark that lit the match that set women’s sports on fire.”
Clark burst onto the WNBA scene in 2024, averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and a league-leading 8.4 assists per game as an All-Star point guard for the Fever. She became the first rookie in WNBA history to record multiple triple-doubles in her debut campaign, and set the league’s all-time single-season assist record (337).
More Basketball: Celtics Get Major Jaylen Brown Injury News Before 76ers Game
Clark appeared in just 13 games for the Fever in 2025, averaging 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game. Despite her absence throughout the WNBA postseason, Indiana played its way to the semifinals before ultimately falling to the eventual-champion Las Vegas Aces.
Clark will look to resume her stellar play when she returns to the court for the Fever in 2026.
