Caitlin Clark to sign massive endorsement deal with Nike

NBA

By Andrew Battifarano

Caitlin Clark is about to get some big bucks — from Nike.

The newest member of the Indiana Fever is set to sign an eight-figure endorsement deal with the company with the expectation that she also will get a signature shoe as well, according to a Wednesday report by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

According to Charania, Clark’s previous deal with Nike just came to an end, and both Under Armour and Adidas made offers to the women’s basketball superstar.

But Clark is joining up with Nike again as part of the massive deal.

If the deal does indeed include the signature shoes, she’ll join the likes of Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, who also has her own line of shoes — Sabrina 1 — with the famed company.

Clark, according to On3, had a name, image and likeness (NIL) valuation at $3.4 million at the conclusion of her storied college career with endorsements that included big names like Gatorade and State Farm.

The former Iowa Hawkeyes superstar now joins the Fever and is set to get paid $338,056 over four seasons, taking in $76,535 during her rookie campaign, per Spotrac.

The pay she’s receiving has been a source of controversy, with people ranging from The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill to President Joe Biden chiming in about the matter.

Hill, who used to work at ESPN, took issue with fans and pundits alike comparing Clark and other WNBA players’ salaries to their WNBA counterparts.

“Weaponizing this information against WNBA players is another form of misogyny. These women have been dreaming of playing professionally in front of American audiences their whole lives,” Hill wrote on X on Tuesday. “Instead of clowning and reminding them of what they’re not — buy the merchandise, go to the games, and watch the games on television. 

Biden waded into the conversation this week as well, saying women in sports deserve better pay.

“Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all,” Biden wrote on X. “But right now we’re seeing that even if you’re the best, women are not paid their fair share.

“It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.”

Clark has been at the center of the sports world over the last few months, becoming Division I college basketball’s — men’s and women’s — all-time leading scorer when she surpassed Pete Maravich’s all-time record and then leading Iowa to a second straight NCAA Tournament title game appearance.

Along the way, Clark’s games during March Madness continued to set ratings records, with the final game averaging a whopping 18.7 million viewers.

The WNBA draft also racked up 2.4 million viewers, also a record.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley spoke on 670 The Score in Chicago about how Clark’s presence was the “sole” reason college basketball viewership soared.

“We need to make sure that we’re telling the stories of our entire game, so sometimes you have to go against the masses to really cut down to say what’s happening in real-time,” Staley said. “Caitlin Clark is the sole reason why viewership has shot through the roof for our game. Sole reason. Sole reason and I think the decision-makers are following suit in making sure that other games are being played besides Caitlin Clark, because if you play Caitlin Clark, you’re going to run up against somebody you might find that’s pretty good.”