Philly Is Getting A WNBA Team Just In Time For Caitlin Clark To Be A Free Agent
Let's just do a quick rundown of all the teams in Philadelphia here for a moment. You have the big 4 with the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers. There's the Union in the MLS. There are two professional lacrosse teams in the city with the Wings in the NLL, and the Waterdogs in the PLL. There a professional Ultimate Frisbee team in the city. Philly has a team for pretty much every league in existence, which is why it's so shocking there hasn't been a WNBA team in the city.
That'll change in 2030.
Part of the reason why the Sixers were so hellbent on getting a new stadium recently was because they knew they needed to bring a WNBA team to Philly. The Flyers and Sixers are going to be co-owners of the new stadium that replaces the Wells Fargo Center in 2031, and they'll also both own the new WNBA team in town (with Comcast having a minority stake). A brand new stadium with an ownership group worth billions of dollars in a major city that not only loves basketball, but is insane about all of our sports. Sounds like a destination to any potential free agent to me.
And not just any free agent. But Caitlin Clark hits restricted free agency in 2028. There's not a chance in heck the Fever wouldn't match any offer she gets that summer, so you have to imagine she'll stay in Indiana for her 2nd contract. But once she hits the unrestricted market? The new Philly WNBA team will be up and running, and they'll be looking to give fans a reason to pour into that new stadium that they just spent a shit ton of money building. They'll need to make some of that money back quickly, and what better way to do that then by signing Caitlin Clark? Hire Dawn Staley as the head coach, and you'll have a dynasty right away.
She's not going to want to stay in Indiana her whole life. She's not going to want to live in Cleveland or Detroit. She'll already develop enough hatred for every other team in the league to not want so sign with them. Philly is going to be her only choice whenever that next contract is up. The timing couldn't possibly be any better. Honestly it might be a smart idea for the city to just start planning the parade now.