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Caitlin Clark Named Most 'Powerful' Athlete In All Of Women's Sports

Originally posted on The Spun | By Chris Rosvoglou | Last updated Oct 22, 2025 5:10 PM ET

On October 22, Forbes named the top 25 most powerful women in sports. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Caitlin Clark cracked the list.

Clark, the No. 1 pick from the 2024 WNBA Draft, has been the most popular player in women's basketball for a few years now. Before she became a two-time All-Star for the Indiana Fever, she was carrying Iowa's basketball program to new heights. Not only did she make it to back-to-back national title games, she finished her college career as the NCAA's all-time leading scorer.

With that said, Forbes has ranked Clark as the most "powerful" female athlete. She beat out a pair of WNBA stars in Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, tennis legend Serena Williams and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles among others.

"Caitlin Clark has turned her record-breaking college basketball career into early dominance in the WNBA," the description from Forbes states. "Her estimated $8.1 million in income from her rookie season with the Indiana Fever was bolstered by big deals with Nike, Wilson and Gatorade and signals a shift in how female athletes are being valued in the world of professional sports. Last month, the Fever announced that Clark would be sidelined with an injury for the remainder of the WNBA season to focus on her recovery, but the injury doesn’t change the fact that Clark has, in the last two years, been the spark that lit the match that set women’s sports on fire."

Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull (10), Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22), and Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) laugh near the team bench Tuesday, June 3, 2025, during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.© Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Who's ranked ahead of Clark?

Just to put Clark's impact on the WNBA into perspective, the only three women that ranked ahead of her are New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson, FanDuel CEO Amy Howe and Nike Brand president Amy Montagne.

In other words, Clark is in a league of her own when it comes to athletes in women's sports - and that's saying something since she's just 23 years old.

As long as Clark stays healthy, there's no doubt in our mind she'll take women's basketball to heights we've never seen before.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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