Imagine planting only one large tree in your garden and forgetting to grow other plants. Now, that tree gives you shade and fruit, but if it gets sick, your whole garden looks empty and sad. Well, for the W, that tree has been Caitlin Clark. She’s sparked records and growth like never before. However, her involvement in the league during her second year has been cut short to just 13 games due to four muscle injuries. But it’s not fate to blame, it’s the gardener.

Who’s better than Christine Brennan to highlight this? The New York Times best-selling author has known CC better than others — especially since she narrated the dramatic rise of the 23-year-old Iowa native in her book, On Her Game. So, when asked if the W could have better anticipated the impact Caitlin Clark was going to have in the league, she had a sharper answer to give.

“Yes, it is fair to say that. I say that, as you know, in the book, I talk about that…We are well into the second year of the Caitlin Clark era in the WNBA. She’s been injured a lot, and that’s also so rare and obviously so disheartening for her. And hopefully she’ll be back soon. And the logo threes and the TV ratings and everything will rise because of that again.” Christine Brennan shared on the Michele Tafoya podcast.

Hopefully, Brennan’s hopes come to fruition next season. It had been just five days since CC confirmed, “I had hoped to share a better update, but I will not be returning to play this season.” Absolutely no one could’ve imagined this ending to CC’s sophomore year, especially after a rookie season full of her signature logo threes and playmaking. But her four muscle injuries have kept her on the treatment table for the majority of the season. Now, her absence hasn’t just left an empty spot on the Fever’s roster—it has created a void across the league itself. But if you listen to Brennan, it was avoidable.

She further elaborated on the rough treatment Clark’s been getting on the floor, saying, “So the fact that it’s still happening now, we’re still seeing evidence of just cheap shot hits…. But these cheap shots on the person who is your entire future, the economic rocket ship for the league, that’s just insanity. And it’s happening again.” And honestly, those cheap shots she mentioned here, we’ve already seen them.

Just a month before her season-ending right groin injury, CC entered the court for the 17th June game against the Connecticut Sun. With Indy leading 55–45 midway through the third quarter, the Indiana Fever sensation took possession of the ball. But as she dribbled over, Jacy Sheldon was seen stopping her.

And what did she do? Reached up with her right hand and poked her in the eye. Obviously, CC resumed play after that, but Sheldon then bumped her and shoved her away. Then, before anybody could intervene, it was Marina Mabrey coming out of nowhere, approaching Clark from behind, and the next moment, the Fever superstar was on the floor. All this happened right in front of the refs, but none helped until Indy’s bench came onto the court to protect their star. For the entire game, we saw players scratching opponents, pushing them, and the refs allowed it.

While physicality is something understandable, it really ain’t when it’s this intense—especially when the victim is the same player responsible for 60% of the league’s economic activity last season. As Jordan Robinson, host of the Women’s Hoops Show podcast, put it better: “Injuries happen for all different reasons,” Robinson told Yahoo on 10th September. “But Caitlin Clark only playing 13 games this season due to injury is an unfortunate reality of what could happen if this wild pace of the WNBA season continues.” And now, the league’s gotta pay for it.

According to TickPick, the average price for a WNBA game before Caitlin Clark’s injury was nearly $89. But ever since her season-ending update came, the figure plummeted by 30%, which means the same tickets are available at $62 per seat. Reason? This fan’s got a better answer for you: “You can’t watch her play, so it’s not the same.”

So yes, her being there matters the most. No matter if Indy’s in the playoffs or if you’ve got big stars at play. But Cathy Engelbert already saw all this coming. At the beginning of the season, games were moved to larger arenas to accommodate Caitlin Clark fans, and the Chicago Sky’s game 2 against Indy was one of them.

But as CC was out due to a left quad strain and her recovery was estimated after four games in two weeks, the drop was immediate. “The get-in price for Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky vs. Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever game on June 7 was $86 just 48 hours ago… now it’s down to $25 after Clark’s injury announcement,” read TickPick’s May 27th post. And yes, that’s nearly a 71% drop in ticket sales, just because CC wasn’t playing. So, the consequences were already coming right at the beginning, but Engelbert just ignored them. The league remained the same, and the physicality too. And its impact was felt across the league.

It isn’t just Caitlin Clark suffering though

This season has been unique on its own. At first, the league welcomed the Golden State Valkyries, an expansion team for the first time since 2008. Then the schedule was expanded to 44 games. That’s added to the W’s viewership, too, as the league broke its single-season attendance record since 2002, with viewers of nationally broadcast W games not featuring Indy up by 37%. Even for GVS, all games have been sold out, and the team became the first to make it to the playoffs in year 1.

But that’s the good part. The bad part is the increase in injuries across the league. While last year W’s players missed 711 games due to injuries, this year, the toll increased to 945 games. And it includes almost every other player, from Napheesa Collier and Angel Reese to Caitlin Clark and Breanna Stewart. Some of them have been injured once, while others twice or more.

Reason? W’s calendar. This season’s calendar saw an addition of 44 games, which created new revenue-generating opportunities. Meanwhile, it landed the W in a blind spot, too, as the league chose to shoehorn the games into the same amount of time that was devoted to 32 games back in 2021.

Now, the average number of rest days has shortened from 4.03 in 2021 to just 2.7 in 2025. And this lack of rest is just resulting in the growing injury list. As Natasha Cloud put it better: “Injuries are going to continue to go up,” if the league continues adding games. So it ain’t just CC, but the entire league suffering.