Iowa's Caitlin Clark (22) Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Report: TV networks considered offering Caitlin Clark massive NIL deal to stay at Iowa

By Clark Dalton | Last updated 3/5/24

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark recently declared for the WNBA Draft, but TV networks were willing to do something unprecedented to convince her to stay in school.

Longtime sports media reporter John Ourand noted that Fox executives considered contacting other networks to offer her a NIL (name, image, and likeness) deal. Ultimately, it never materialized, and no one ever met with the 22-year-old.

Clark is a massive box-office draw. On Sunday against the Ohio State Buckeyes, 3.39M viewers tuned in to see the three-time All-American break former LSU star Pete Maravich's all-time scoring record (3,685 points), per Fox Sports PR. The matchup was the most-watched regular-season women's college basketball game on any network since 1999.

Sunday’s Ohio State-Iowa game ft. Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking performance scored 3.39 million viewers on FOX
Most-watched reg season WCBB game on any net since 1999
Most-watched WCBB game in FOX Sports history
Viewership peaked at 4.42 million viewers from 3-3:14 PM ET pic.twitter.com/GvTtjlmCSd
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) March 5, 2024

It'll be interesting to see if TV networks try to convince another star player to remain in the college ranks in the future.

"While that didn't happen in this case, it's not inconceivable the idea could be tried down the road if there's another athlete that particular broadcasters can profit from remaining in college," wrote Andrew Bucholtz of Awful Announcing. "The concept might be interesting on the college football to NFL side, and we've already seen some talk of athletes maybe staying there longer to try and pick their pro landing spot (although much of that has been walked back)."

The NCAA prohibits paying athletes to play for a specific school, and they must do something off the field to receive NIL payments.

More importantly, big names won't want to stay in school if they can turn pro. Their draft stock could plummet if they suffer a severe injury.

Regardless, TV networks mulling a mega deal for Clark proves she's a transcendent talent. Tankathon projects that the Indiana Fever will take the 6-foot guard with the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

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