ST. LOUIS – Before Caitlin Clark even stepped on a WNBA court, her impact was felt.

Ticket sales are up 93% from last year, according to Forbes, and a lot of that has to do with Clark.

“It’s slowly been on the incline, on the rise and now it’s just boomed,” St. Louis Surge Head Coach Petra Jackson told FOX 2.

Clark’s team, the Indiana Fever, was also one of the first WNBA teams to fly charter.

“It’s been something that’s long overdue for the WNBA,” Jackson said.

Clark was the number one overall pick in April’s WNBA draft. Shortly after, Clark signed a shoe deal with Nike and Fever tickets skyrocketed.

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Jackson, who knows a thing or two about the women’s game, gave Clark high praise. Jackson is a Southern Illinois University Hall of Famer and compared Clark’s impact to that of other superstars, LeBron James and Magic Johnson.

“She’s a great player,” Jackson explained. “LeBron James, Magic Johnson, it was time that we had that one player.”

While most of the interest has been in Clark, she’s not the only one in the spotlight. Last year, New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu got a signature Nike shoes and most recently, Las Vegas Aces Aj’a Wilson also announced a signature shoe deal with Nike.

The league is growing along with its players. The WNBA announced two expansion teams set to play in San Francisco and Toronto.

While the game and its players are growing, Jackson hopes salaries may be next.

“The next thing we got to do is get them salaries (up), so our players can stop going overseas,” Jackson said.

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