Women’s Sports See Historic Growth. It’s Time Its Athletes Get Paid Like It
Women's sports viewership is breaking records. Here's how rising audiences can better translate into equal pay for women athletes across leagues and sports.
During her first WNBA season, Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever earned just $78,066. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) Getty Images Two years after Caitlin Clark’s legendary collegiate career ended, women’s college basketball is still building steam. Coined as “The Caitlin Clark Effect” by the Hawkeyes Wire and NCAA , the term refers to the record-breaking attendance and viewership that climbed throughout 2023 and 2024 during the now-WNBA star’s collegiate run.
As of 2026, women’s college basketball viewership has grown 33% year over year. And this past Sunday’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship drew 9. 9 million viewers, a sign that the surge shows no signs of slowing.
This growing momentum extends well beyond women’s college basketball to the professional level. According to Nielsen's recent “ Top of Sports ” report, the 2025 WNBA season was the most-watched in league history, with ESPN networks averaging 1. 3 million viewers across regular-season games and 1.
2 million across the postseason, both up year over year. Fans consumed more than 220 million hours of WNBA content across all national networks, a 16% increase from the prior season. The WNBA is also scoring big wins for pay equity.
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