Caitlin Clark has ascended to become one of the world’s most prominent sports stars and voices.
As a result, Clark was invited alongside tennis legend Serena Williams to speak on a panel discussion hosted by Mellody Hobson on Sunday night at the annual NFL league meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. The panel, which will also include Eli Manning, will focus on the growth of women’s sports.
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“The NFL is certainly interested in learning from the experience of some of the greatest athletes who have ever lived,” Jeff Miller, an NFL executive vice president, said during a media Zoom call on Wednesday. “Certainly, Serena Williams fits that description, and Caitlin Clark’s engagement with college basketball and the WNBA, as well as Mellody Hobson, who is part-owner of the Broncos and invests in sports, including women’s sports. The owners, the clubs, are interested in learning more.”
The NFL is seeing an increasing number of women in key roles within the league and its teams. Plus, the league has a vested interest as it promotes growth in women’s flag football.
Clark has morphed into one of the biggest stars in sports and has helped transform interest and viewership in women’s basketball during her time at Iowa and now with the Indiana Fever.
The 6-foot guard earned WNBA Rookie of the Year honors with the Fever after averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 41.7% from the field, 34.4% from 3-point range and 90.6% from the free throw line.
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Like her record-setting career at Iowa, Clark set a number of records during her rookie campaign in the WNBA. That list of accomplishments included a WNBA single-season record number of assists (337) and the new WNBA rookie single-season scoring mark (769).
Clark and the Fever open their 2025 WNBA season on May 17 against the Chicago Sky at 2 p.m. CT on ABC.
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Caitlin Clark speaking at annual NFL league meetings
