WNBA celebrity Caitlin Clark is on the brink of signal an eight-year, $28 million take care of Nike, in keeping with reviews.
Clark, whose NCAA profession on the College of Iowa pushed girls’s basketball to new heights, already had a Nike deal as a school athlete. That deal, allowed beneath new rules that allow school athletes to signal endorsement offers, expired after the school basketball season ended a couple of weeks in the past.
Now that Clark has gone professional because the primary choose by the Indiana Fever within the WNBA draft and brought the sports activities world by storm, she is eyeing a a lot larger payday from the swoosh.
Clark’s rumored take care of Nike would come with a signature shoe line, in keeping with The Athletic. The truth that Clark will signal what is about to be the most important attire contract of any WNBA participant and turn into one in every of solely three with their very own shoe is testomony to how a lot Iowa’s sharpshooter has cemented her standing as one of the bankable stars in sports activities. Alongside the way in which, she set numerous basketball information on the courtroom and rankings milestones amongst followers, as her attraction turned really mainstream.
Different shoe corporations akin to Beneath Armour, Adidas, and Puma additionally tried a run at Clark, however she opted to remain put with Nike. Beneath Armour’s pitch even included an look from NBA celebrity Stephen Curry, who’s the face of the model’s basketball attire. Adidas despatched Clark prototypes for what her footwear would possibly appear like, in keeping with the Wall Road Journal. Puma dropped out early, as soon as it heard Clark was trying for at least $3 million a season.
Finally that was a quantity that solely Nike might match. Clark’s rumored deal would pay her $3.5 million a season over the course of the deal. That quantity is sufficient to be one of many largest endorsement offers within the WNBA. In the meanwhile solely three WNBA gamers—Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Elena Delle Donne—have their very own shoe line. In basketball circles, having a branded shoe is taken into account a standing image that represents each a participant’s expertise and their standing as an icon, worthy of selling their very own line of merchandising.
Clark actually matches the invoice for the latter. Whereas in school, Clark turned one of the electrifying and talked-about athletes within the nation. On the courtroom she broke information, changing into the highest-scoring basketball participant in NCAA historical past. These performances pushed the sport to new ranges of recognition. A Ultimate 4 matchup between Clark’s Iowa and the College of Connecticut was the highest-rated basketball sport in ESPN’s historical past, in keeping with the sports activities broadcaster.
The size of Nike’s contract appears, partially, to try to get in early on Clark’s reputation. A mixture of plain basketball expertise, together with her penchant for bombing three pointers, and her unbothered, affable persona are the kind of uncommon mixture that might propel her to the mainstream attraction manufacturers crave of their celeb spokespeople.
Clark is not any stranger to the world of high-profile model offers. In school, other than her Nike deal, she had endorsements valued at $3.1 million, making her one of many highest-paid school athletes within the nation. The tens of millions Clark is about to earn from sponsors pales compared to her WNBA wage, which will likely be slightly over $76,000.