The Impact of a High-Profile Athlete on Sponsoring Firms: The Case of Caitlin Clark

Abstract

We use Caitlin Clark's last amateur and first professional season to examine the impact on returns to sponsoring firms when engaging in an agreement with a high-profile player. Using event study methods, we find on average that the sponsors of Clark and the Indiana Fever experience an abnormal return of 13-basis points (0.13 percent) on the trading day following a game. The returns tend to reverse on the following trading day. The winning percentage of Clark's team has a positive effect on the returns generated for sponsors. Our study demonstrates the impact of a high-profile athlete on the market awareness of sponsoring firms. However, the reversal of the returns on the subsequent trading days indicates that the market does not view the individual games as value-creating relative to the impact that has already been priced into the stock.