The Caitlin Clark effect on the WNBA brought in unprecedented numbers. The WNBA delivered its most-watched regular season in 24 years and finished with its highest attendance in 22 years. That’s not it, games featuring Clark attracting a remarkable 1.184 million viewers, and other games had a drop off with 428,000 viewers. Her impact is no doubt visible, but is it more than that of Michael Jordan? Well, some fans disagree with a national broadcaster’s take.

“The valuation for the Fever – $90 million before she arrived. Now, $340 million. That’s a four times valuation increase. LeBron didn’t do that when he went back to Cleveland. He certainly didn’t do it going to Miami or the Lakers. MJ didn’t do that with the Bulls.” Colin Cowherd lauds Caitlin Clark for reportedly skyrocketing the Fever’s franchise value. “We’re talking one player. She’s Steve Jobs. She’s taking an insolvent company and turning it into a powerhouse.”

It’s not the first time that the comparison of the Fever guard has been made with Michael Jordan. To prove his point on the show, Cowherd even brought some stats. As per the economist at Indiana University Columbus, Dr. Brewer, interviewed by the IndyStar, “Clark was responsible for $36 million in economic impact to the city of Indianapolis and almost 27% of the league’s economic activity for the 2024 season, including attendance, merchandise sales and television”.

The number $36 million is huge, and if we compare it with the NBA salary, reportedly only 32 people earn more than that figure in the league. But her impact already showed promise during her college years. According to the Common Sense Institute found that Iowa’s economy saw a boost to the state’s GDP of between $14.4 million and $52.3 million as a direct result of the Caitlin Clark effect. More stats prove Cowherd’s points of CC’s domination, but what about stats supporting Michael Jordan?

Fans believe Michael Jordan is in a league of his own

Before His Airness’s arrival in ’84, the Bulls averaged more than 10,750 at home only twice in 18 seasons. In MJ’s first season, the attendance reached 11,887 in the 18,676-seat arena. Once Scottie Pippen arrived in the third year of Michael Jordan’s reign, the number reached close to 16,000, and just a year later, it crossed 18,000. That’s why a fan added, “Colin, you live in Chicago, go see what the Bulls were before Jordan.” Even viewership-wise, the data suggests a strong impact of the Bulls dynasty led by Michael Jordan. The 1998 Finals Game 6 that pulled in 35.89 million viewers—still the most-watched NBA game of all time!

A netizen rightly asked Cowherd to review the history for accurate data. “Disagree. We saw the last dance documentary where when Jordan was drafted by the bulls, they were a bunch of cigarette smoking, d— consuming fools that he turned into a premium franchise and brand.” Dick Ebersol, the former chairman of ‘NBC Sports’ also shared the television ratings like no other during the first three peat year for Michael Jordan.

The Bulls’ 1998 playoff games minus the Finals averaged a 10.9 rating, 102 percent above telecasts without Chicago. Game 6 and Jordan’s last game at the time produced a whopping 22.3 rating. A fan called out the Fox analyst’s biased reporting. “Cowherd is not credible.” Let’s not forget, Cowherd also dragged Lebron James’ name, and his fans also defended their favorite player.

In terms of valuation, the Cavs were $222 million when King James was the overall number 1 draft pick in 2003. It doubled during his first stay until 2010, when it reached $476 million. It was on a downward spiral until the Akron native returned and reached $1.3 billion in 2018, as per Statista.com. That’s why this comment from a fan made sense. “Dear Colin…Please show me the cavs net worth pre LeBron and Post LeBron…✌🏽”

Another fan was just tired of the media narratives and simply wrote, “Colin always gonna say some outlandish s—.” Caitlin Clark and her ascent to the top might be unlike any other. But pitting her against Michael Jordan, who made the game global, was not the right idea, as per fans.