Caitlin Clark is about to make a fortune from Nike.
New members of the Indiana Fever will sign eight-figure sponsorship deals with the company in hopes of getting signature shoes as well. According to a report Wednesday by Shams Charania of The Athletic:.
According to Charania, Clark’s previous contract with Nike just ended, and both Under Armor and Adidas have made offers to the women’s basketball superstar.
However, Clark has teamed up with Nike again as part of a major deal.
If the deal does indeed include a signature shoe, she will join Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu. She also owns her own shoe line “Sabrina 1” with this famous company.
According to On3, Clark had a name, image, and likeness (NIL) valuation of $3.4 million at the end of her storied college career and was backed by big-name companies like Gatorade and State Farm.
The former Iowa Hawkeyes superstar will join the Fever and be paid $338,056 over four seasons, including $76,535 during his rookie campaign, according to Spotrac.
The salary she receives has been a source of controversy, with everyone from The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill to President Joe Biden disputing the issue.
Hill, who previously worked for ESPN, similarly took issue with fans and pundits comparing Clark and other WNBA players’ salaries to WNBA players.
“Weaponizing this information against WNBA players is another form of misogyny. These women have dreamed their whole lives of performing professionally in front of an American audience.” Hill wrote on Tuesday to. “Instead of clowning around and reminding us that we’re not, let’s buy some merchandise, go to the game, watch the game on TV.
Biden weighed in on the conversation again this week, saying women in sports deserve better pay.
“Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all.” Mr. Biden wrote about X: “But now we are seeing that women, even the best, are not getting the compensation they deserve.
“It is time to give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure that women are paid the compensation they deserve.”
Clark has been at the center of the sports world in recent months, surpassing Pete Maravich’s all-time records to become the all-time leading scorer for men’s and women’s Division I college basketball and leading the University of Iowa to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament championship. Participated in title match.
Along the way, Clark’s games during March Madness continued to set viewership records, averaging a whopping 18.7 million viewers for the final game.
Available April 15, 2024. Cheryl V. Jackson / USA TODAY NETWORK
The WNBA Draft also drew 2.4 million viewers, another record.
University of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley told Chicago’s 670 The Score that Clark’s presence was “the only” reason college basketball ratings skyrocketed.
“We need to make sure we tell the whole story of the game, so sometimes we have to go against the public and really cut back in order to tell what’s going on in real time,” Staley said. Ta. “The presence of Caitlin Clark is the only reason why our game’s viewership has increased dramatically. The only reason. I think I’m following suit because when I play with Caitlin Clark, I’m playing against someone who I think is pretty good.”
