Caitlin Clark’s popularity is the highest it’s even been, and the second-year Indiana Fever player will only have more eyes on her as she continues to build out her legacy in the WNBA.

The rise in fame has come with some hard licks on the court. Clark was in plenty of skirmishes during her rookie season, taking bumps on shots and being on the receiving end on hard screens. So much so that she admitted to a busted eardrum and had a black eye at one point. This season, Clark was already knocked down in brouhahas with opponents.

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Clark fans have suggested that the lack of protection for the Fever sharpshooter could lead her toward building her own professional basketball league. Christine Brennan, the author of “On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports,” talked about the potential of that happening in an interview on ESPN Los Angeles last week.

“Nike loves her. She’s got Wilson, obviously. She’s got Gatorade,” she said, via the New York Post. “Even though the salary’s $76,000 for a rookie — it’s more this year now — she’s making $28 million from Nike alone, according to the Wall Street Journal. So she’s at $40 million, whatever. OK, fine, she’s doing great. And if Nike said, ‘We’re going to make the Nike-Clark league,’ it would obviously take a few years to get the arenas and whatever.

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“But you know the TV contract. I mean, it’s Caitlin. Again, the TV viewership, it’s Caitlin Clark. It’s not Angel (Reese) and Caitlin. It’s Cailtin. It’s Caitlin Clark only. And I think Angel’s a great rebounder and excellent at what she does, but she doesn’t move the needle on TV ratings. It’s Caitlin. And they could do it. I think they could absolutely put it together in a couple of years. And I’ll stay on that because I agree with you. It’s fascinating, and it’s doable because of the void in the vacuum of leadership the WNBA continues to exhibit.”

Clark didn’t participate in the offseason Unrivaled league, but the league and WNBA players are set to enter bitter collective bargaining negotiations very soon.

For Clark, she’s set to be a WNBA All-Star captain. She’s averaging 18.2 points, 8.9 assists and 5 rebounds per game despite missing several games due to injuries.

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