After rewriting the league’s history books last season, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is arguably the most famous player in the WNBA.
Among her many accolades, Clark scored the most points (769) and most three-pointers (122) by a rookie in a single season and set a new WNBA record for most assists (337). The 23-year-old made an unprecedented impact off the court as well, shattering viewership and attendance records across the league.
Due to her star power, the NFL invited Clark to speak on a panel at the NFL’s annual league meeting in Palm Bach. Clark, who rocked an orange pantsuit, discussed women’s sports and growing interest in flag football with tennis legend Serena Williams and two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning.
While the panel was not live-streamed for the public, members of the Kansas City Chiefs’ front office, including owner Clark Hunt, attended the meeting.
“It was interesting to hear Caitlin say, ‘If flag football was around when I was growing up, I might not be a basketball player,’” Hunt recalled to Front Office Sports.
While the world of women’s basketball takes a collective sigh of relief that flag football was not around while Clark was growing up, the AP’s Female Athlete of Year’s interest in professional flag football is clearly huge.
Chiefs president Mark Donovan expects attention over men’s and women’s leagues to grow exponentially following its inclusion the 2028 Olympics Games in Los Angeles.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark. Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“Flag is real. All levels of flag are real. I’m really, personally, bullish on this,” Donovan said. “When you add in all the pieces that are coming, including the things happening around women’s sports, the investment going into that, I think flag is poised to be enormous.
“I think the Olympics piece is a compelling point for any [NFL team] owner. You’re going to see us get aggressive in establishing the organizing bodies, the accreditations. … There are plenty of people who would want to invest in [this].”
