The 2023-2024 NCAA women’s basketball player of the year and the 2024 first overall WNBA draft pick, Caitlin Clark, has inked a brand-new shoe deal with Nike, reportedly worth $28 million. She becomes just the third active WNBA player to have her own signature shoe, joining Breanna Stewart with Puma and Sabrina Ionescu (Elena Delle Donne, with Nike, would be the fourth player but she has recently stated that she will take a break from basketball).
Nike emerged victorious in the Clark sweepstakes, outbidding Puma, Adidas, and Under Armour. Although another company offered her a signature shoe, Nike presented her with the highest value. According to the Wall Street Journal, Under Armour was the only other company to propose a signature shoe, while Puma withdrew its offer upon learning of the price involved. Adidas’ offer was also nowhere close to Under Armour’s or Nike’s.
Photo Cred: NBC News
Before being offered the shoe deal, Clark was in talks to become the female face of Nike’s Kobe line, as she sported Iowa-colored Kobe 5s in the National Championship this year. Compared to her peers, this marks the largest shoe deal for a women’s basketball player in history. While the deal has not been officially announced yet, she wore Nike Kobe Protro ‘All-Star Game’ colorways during her preseason debut.
Photo Cred: Fox Business
This deal comes at the heels of Clark’s legendary college career, during which she shattered the all-time NCAA scoring record previously held by LSU’s Pete Maravich. Additionally, she led her Iowa team to the National Championship, where they ultimately fell short 87-75 to the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks. In total, she boasts over 30 awards and achievements, including being a two-time AP Player of the Year and a three-time NCAA season assists leader. Internationally, she also secured three gold medals for the US in the FIBA U-19 World Cup (2019, 2021) and the FIBA Americas U-16 Championship (2017).
As the first pick in the draft by the Indiana Fever, Clark received a 5-year, $388,056 contract for her rookie deal. However, fans are astonished by the value considering she had already earned over $3 million through NIL deals in college. The WNBA, in general, has operated under a hard cap ($1.46 million for the 2024 season), and players normally receive around 10% of the overall league revenue, hence the low value of the rookie deal.
Photo Cred: AP News
