It looks like Caitlin Clark is about to break another record.
She was the top pick in the WNBA draft and scored the most points in NCAA Division I history. She has now signed an eight-year, $28 million deal with Nike that includes a signature shoe.
The Wall Street Journal and The Athletic both claimed that a deal was close, citing unnamed sources who knew about the talks between Clark’s agents and the sportswear giant.
Excel Sports Management, which works for Clark, wouldn’t say anything. The Associated Press asked Nike for a response, but they didn’t answer right away.
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Clark’s first deal for his name, picture, and likeness, which he signed in 2022, ended at the end of the 2023–24 college season.
The new deal would be the best marketing deal for a basketball player for women.
The WSJ and The Athletic say that Under Armour and Adidas also talked about contracts with Clark’s team in February. The WSJ says Puma was also interested, but when they were told the bidding would begin at $3 million per year, they pulled out.
The WSJ reports that Under Armour offered Clark $16 million over four years and Adidas offered him $6 million over four years. Both of the deals came with a signature shoe.
On3.com says Clark made about $3 million in NIL money at Iowa through deals with State Farm, Gatorade, and other companies.
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Clark’s managers started working on the new Nike deal before she even said she was going to turn pro instead of going back to Iowa for a fifth season under the COVID-19 exemption for college players during the 2020 pandemic season.
Clark was picked up by the Indiana Fever with the first pick in the draft on April 15. He had averaged 31.6 points and led the Hawkeyes to their second straight national title game. For her first year on the job, she will get $76,000.
She has been a big reason why more and more women are interested in basketball, with her deep 3-point shots, flashy thread-the-needle passes, and general presence on the court. A WNBA record 2.45 million people watched the draft, and 18.9 million people watched Iowa lose to South Carolina in the NCAA title game.
This season, 36 of the Fever’s 40 games will be shown across the country, and ticket sales have gone through the roof across the league.
Your polished acts in public make her more marketable. Her surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” two weeks ago got a lot of praise and brought her to even more people.
The rumoured eight-year deal with Nike shows how committed the clothing giant is. Clark, who is 22, could play in the WNBA for more than ten years. She could also be on the U.S. team for the Olympics in Paris this year, Los Angeles in 2028, and Brisbane, Australia, in 2032.
