September 23, 2024

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Caitlin Clark has set record after record in her WNBA rookie season. After a playoff loss, it may only continue for one more game. We look at the historic nature of her debut campaign and just how much she’s personally affected the league’s exploding popularity.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]] and Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

Caitlin Clark’s Record Rookie Season May Have Just One Game Left [[link removed]]

Mark Smith-Imagn Images

After Caitlin Clark carried the WNBA to its most high-profile and lucrative season ever [[link removed]], the league’s brightest young star may have just one game left to make her sensational off-court impact felt.

The Sun blew out the Fever 93-69 in front of an 8,910-person crowd in Connecticut on Sunday afternoon, as all four first-round WNBA playoff matchups got underway. Viewership is not yet available for the game that aired on ABC, but it tipped off at 3 p.m. ET, just as the NFL’s witching hour was kicking off [[link removed]].

With the loss, Indiana faces a must-win Game 2 back at Mohegan Sun Arena on Wednesday night. If Clark and Co. win, they’ll host a winner-take-all Game 3 on Friday night in Indianapolis. If the Fever lose, their season is over.

Best Show in Town

By whichever metric you look at, Clark helped take the WNBA to new heights in 2024.

On the TV ratings front, games involving Clark drew an average audience of 1.18 million, while all other games averaged 394,000 viewers. That’s a 199% difference [[link removed]].

At Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Fever averaged a WNBA record of 17,035 fans per game [[link removed]]. When combining road games, Indiana averaged a record 16,084 tickets sold per contest [[link removed]]. The Fever’s season finale at Washington was the most-attended regular-season game in WNBA history [[link removed]] with 20,711 fans.

Adding to the Trophy Case

There was some confusion surrounding Clark on Sunday after the Associated Press named her the unanimous choice for WNBA Rookie of the Year [[link removed]]. The WNBA has not yet revealed its official Rookie of the Year award winner, although Clark has been the favorite to take that honor, too. The league will announce its winner at a later date.

Clark did finish fourth in the WNBA’s official MVP voting that was announced Sunday. Aces center A’ja Wilson was the unanimous choice, winning her third league MVP award.

Panthers Finally Win, but Criticism of Owner David Tepper Grows [[link removed]]

Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Panthers won their first game of the 2024 NFL season Sunday, after the benching of 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young [[link removed]] led to a week-long discussion about dysfunction surrounding the franchise and owner David Tepper.

Carolina upset the Raiders 36-22 in Las Vegas, led by newly appointed starting quarterback Andy Dalton, 36, who threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns. It also marked the first win for first-year head coach Dave Canales, who was hired in January after Tepper fired head coaches midseason the previous two years [[link removed]].

Forever Young?

After starting 0-2, the Panthers made the unprecedented decision to bench Young after just 18 starts in the NFL—and a 2-16 record. As the top pick in last year’s draft, Young signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $38 million contract. If he were to be released after this season, he would carry a dead cap hit of $22.4 million [[link removed]], according to Spotrac, and $12.3 million if he were traded.

However, on Sunday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Carolina is not interested in trading Young this fall [[link removed]], despite fielding multiple inquiries from other teams after his benching.

Blame Game

Ahead of Week 3 action kicking off Sunday afternoon, multiple pregame NFL shows took shots at the leadership of Tepper.

“The owner of the Carolina Panthers, that’s the problem,” two-time Super Bowl champion coach Jimmy Johnson said on Fox NFL Sunday [[link removed]]. “He’s making the major decisions without listening to his football people. … He’s got to listen to his football people and quit playing fantasy football.”

On ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, Randy Moss echoed a similar sentiment [[link removed]]. “The laughingstock of the National Football League is the Carolina Panthers,” the Hall of Fame receiver said. “And it’s not because of how they’re playing. It’s everything, from ownership all the way down.”

Following the victory in Las Vegas, Carolina now sits at 1-2, still in last place in the NFC South.

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Nike Stock Surges Following Appointment of New CEO [[link removed]]

Nike

In the minds of incoming Nike president and CEO Elliott Hill, there is a pathway for the sports apparel and footwear giant to recover from its current malaise. But to quote a legendary marketing slogan from the company, can Nike “just do it”?

Hill will take over next month for the embattled and outgoing John Donahoe [[link removed]], marking Nike’s most drastic step to date in its corporate rebuilding process. Dogged for months by a sagging stock, falling sales, and staff cuts, the challenges are significant for Hill—something he acknowledged in an email sent to company employees.

“I know things haven’t been easy, and we certainly have taken our fair share of shots,” Hill wrote.

But in that same note, Hill also said he will lean on a long-held practice to “always put the consumer at the center of everything, and every decision.” In the minds of many, that practice had increasingly escaped Nike in the Donahoe era as the company appeared to struggle more with product innovation—particularly in the face of rising competition from upstart brands such as On and Hoka.

Hill started as an intern with Nike in 1988 [[link removed]] and is now coming out of a four-year retirement to take the company reins. According to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, he will be paid a compensation package worth up to $27 million, depending on Hill’s ability to hit certain performance targets and earn incentive awards. The figure is slightly less than the $29.1 million in compensation Donahoe received during Nike’s fiscal 2024.

Optimism on the Street

Investors have made their feelings on the executive switch very clear. After sending up shares more than 9% in Thursday after-hours trading immediately following the announcement of Hill’s return, that gain largely held as Nike shares closed Friday at $86.52 per share, up nearly 7%.

Still, there’s no quick fix for Nike, and the stock remains down by 19% for the year, contrasting from a broader landscape in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average has soared to record highs. But analysts generally agreed Donahoe’s departure and Hill’s arrival could provide a new energy to the company.

“We believe this highly anticipated leadership change will inject a much-needed sense of urgency, focusing on product innovation, storytelling, marketing, and rebuilding wholesale partnerships—areas that suffered under previous leadership,” wrote Deutsche Bank’s Krisztina Katai in a research note.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Perkins on NBA Media, NIL, Celtics

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Kendrick Perkins has found a second career as an NBA analyst—one that has changed his perspective on the league and its relationship to the media. He joins the show to discuss what he’s learned by seeing the game from both sides, the growing impact of college NIL (name, image, and likeness) on the NBA, and which teams could dethrone the Celtics.

We also get the story of Trevor Reilly, the Colorado staffer who sought NIL money from Saudi Arabia without telling the school, and has since left the program. Freelance sports reporter Jill Painter Lopez and Front Office Sports senior reporter AJ Perez join to share their exclusive reporting on the story.

Watch, listen, and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Spotify [[link removed]], and YouTube [[link removed]].

LOUD AND CLEAR Not Done Yet

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“I’m not resigning. I’ll be back at work Monday.”

—North Carolina football coach Mack Brown, after a report from 247 Sports that he offered to step down [[link removed]] following the Tar Heels’ 70-50 home loss to James Madison on Saturday. UNC paid the Sun Belt Conference school $700,000 [[link removed]] to play in Chapel Hill—or $10,000 for every point that the Dukes scored. But Brown told ESPN that messages in emotional locker rooms can be misconstrued [[link removed]].

UNC is the latest school to lose on their home turf despite paying their opponent a large sum for the visit. Notre Dame’s $1.4 million payment to Northern Illinois, who beat the Fighting Irish 16-14 in South Bend, is still the biggest guarantee-game loss this season [[link removed]].

STATUS REPORT Two Up, One Down, One Push

Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Conference newbies ⬆⬇ Several big-time college football programs made their conference debuts over the weekend with mixed results. In the Big Ten, USC lost 27-24 at Michigan. In the SEC, Oklahoma lost 25-15 at home to Tennessee. In the ACC, Stanford beat Syracuse and Cal lost to Florida State after 2,000-plus-mile cross-country trips [[link removed]]. And Colorado returned to the Big 12 with a 38-31 overtime victory against Baylor that included a 43-yard Hail Mary at the end of regulation and a game-winning forced-fumble by Travis Hunter that led to a chaotic storming of the field [[link removed]].

Tom Brady ⬆ Fox’s No. 1 NFL game analyst will head to Tampa in Week 4 to call his former team’s next home game against the Eagles. After a rocky season-opening debut in the booth, and a bounce-back in Week 2 [[link removed]], it will be Brady’s fourth game as a broadcaster—and first not involving the Cowboys, who lost 28-25 to the Ravens in Dallas on Sunday.

Ripper GC ⬆ Cam Smith’s LIV Golf team won the league’s season-ending team championship [[link removed]] Sunday—as well as its first-place $14 million prize. Dustin Johnson’s Aces finished second ($8 million), and Kevin Na’s Iron Heads GC third ($6 million).

Thursday Night Football ⬇ The Jets’ 24-3 route of the Patriots to kick off Week 3 averaged 13.37 million viewers on Amazon Prime Video, down 4% from the Giants-49ers game in Week 3 last year. A bright spot for the streaming NFL package is that its games are averaging 14.17 million viewers through two weeks—20% above the 2023 season average of 11.86 million.

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Conversation Starters Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter just filmed a new ad for his latest NIL (name, image, and likeness) deal with United Airlines. Check it out [[link removed]]. The Falcons gave fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium free hot dogs, chips, and refillable drinks [[link removed]] for Sunday night’s game against the Chiefs in honor of owner Arthur Blank’s Ring of Honor induction. As the WNBA playoffs continue, a number of cities remain on the league’s wish list for expansion. Take a look [[link removed]] at the options. Editors’ Picks Six Major WNBA Playoff Storylines to Watch [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]There’s glory—and money—at stake as the historic season wraps. It’s Complicated: How the Mountain West–Pac-12 Relationship Crumbled [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]Just one year ago, the two conferences seemed like a perfect match. Judge Dismisses Sex Trafficking Lawsuit Filed Against MSG CEO James Dolan [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]Plaintiff Kellye Croft’s legal team plans to appeal the decision. Question of the Day

Will Bryce Young be a Panther at the start of next season?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Friday’s result: 70% of respondents said they watched as much or more WNBA coverage this season than they did last year.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]

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