Mark Madden: Caitlin Clark is a unicorn, so the WNBA should treat her like one

Caitlin Clark is a legit phenomenon.

The 6-foot senior guard for the University of Iowa is impacting her sport like nobody before her.

Never mind her considerable skills, which have her 66 points away from becoming the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball.

Clark moves the needle. That’s what makes her unique.

Maryland packed the house for its home game vs. Iowa this past Saturday, that program’s first sellout since 2016. Iowa’s visit to Northwestern registered that team’s first-ever sellout. Attendance for host schools is up 150% when Clark comes to town. Ticket prices on the secondary market soar when Clark plays.

Ten million viewers watched on TV last year when LSU beat Iowa in the NCAA women’s final.

That’s because of Clark, not because more citizens are suddenly interested in women’s basketball.

Clark has one more year of NCAA eligibility thanks to the pandemic. She reportedly makes about $750,000 via NIL. The highest-paid player in the WNBA makes less than a third of that. (Clark would keep most of her sponsorships upon going to the WNBA, likely all of them. She could add some. Then again, her visibility might decrease.)

The WNBA is a niche league. Its average attendance in 2023 was a mere 6,615.

The WNBA needs Clark, and the sooner the better. She has a degree of mainstream buzz unmatched by any WNBA player ever.

Clark doesn’t have to be shoehorned into the first segment of “SportsCenter.” She merits it.

So here’s what the WNBA needs to do.

The salary cap shouldn’t count for Clark. The WNBA should pay her whatever is required to sign her for next season. Make her the highest-paid player as a rookie.

Clark will bring in more than she takes. No WNBA player can say that, not past or present. Clark is a unicorn. She’s the exception.

The WNBA needs to put Clark in New York.

The New York Liberty were last season’s WNBA runner-up. The rich would get richer.

But New York is the nation’s No. 1 media market. That’s where Clark would benefit the entire league most.

Indiana has the No. 1 pick in this year’s WNBA draft. If Clark goes to Indianapolis, she disappears.

The WNBA needs Clark to be on a good team in a big market.

The Indiana Fever was 13-27 last season. Indianapolis is the nation’s No. 25 media market. The Fever drew an average crowd of 4,067 last season, second-last in the WNBA.

Clark might as well play for the Pirates.

Unilaterally giving Clark to New York wouldn’t be fair. But there isn’t room for fair in a league with an average crowd of 6,615. (Iowa’s average attendance for home games this year is 14,998. Ten American Hockey League teams are averaging more than 6,615 this season. That’s without national TV exposure like the WNBA.)

If you want Clark to change the WNBA, pay her like the phenom that she is and put her in New York.

Otherwise, send Clark to Indianapolis and blow a big chance to upgrade the entire league. “Aw, gee whiz, that sounds like so much fun, fair and all.”

By the way, remember when Brittney Griner returned to a hero’s welcome in America near the end of 2022 after her nearly 11-month detention in Russia for possession of hash oil?

Griner’s Phoenix Mercury finished dead last in the WNBA with a record of 9-31. (Full disclosure: Phoenix finished second in WNBA attendance with an average count of 9,197.)