Caitlin Clark is reportedly near receiving an endorsement cope with Nike.
On Monday 15 April, the College of Iowa senior was drafted first within the WNBA draft for the Indiana Fever, and is now anticipated to obtain a cope with Nike value $20m, in accordance with The Athletic.
The outlet experiences that a part of the deal will embrace a signature shoe and that Nike was chosen over different athletic put on corporations that made Clark provides, comparable to Below Armour and Adidas.
Clark was beforehand partnered with Nike whereas enjoying school basketball with the Hawkeyes beneath NIL (title, picture, and likeness) however that deal was not legitimate after the season ended. All through the season, Clark went on to interrupt varied information together with “report 3,700+ factors, 1,000+ assists, and 850+ rebounds in a profession,” in accordance with the College’s athletics web site.
If the brand new Indiana Fever participant does go on to signal the eight-figure cope with Nike and launch a signature shoe, she’s going to then develop into considered one of 4 WNBA gamers to have their very own shoe. Solely 12 WNBA gamers in historical past have had one.
The one three gamers who at the moment have footwear in the marketplace are: Breanna Stewart from the New York Liberty together with her Puma Stewie in 2021, Elena Delle Donne a former Washington Mystics participant together with her Nike Air Deldon in 2022, and Sabrina Ionescu additionally from the New York Liberty together with her Nike Sabrina 1 sneakers, which debuted in 2023.
In keeping with The Athletic, Clark additionally has endorsement offers with Gatorade, State Farm, and Panini.
From model offers alone, Clark is estimated to make greater than $3m per yr, in accordance with her NIL valuation.
The offers come after followers expressed outrage and questioned why her rookie wage within the WNBA is considerably lower than the boys who play within the NBA. Reviews declare that Clark will likely be making $338,056 with the Fever over a time interval of 4 years whereas her male equal, Victor Wembanyama, signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs value $55m over the identical timeframe.
Even President Joe Biden weighed in on the talk, with Biden taking to X, previously referred to as Twitter, to name for feminine athletes to be “paid what they deserve”.
“Ladies in sports activities proceed to push new boundaries and encourage us all,” he started his put up. “However proper now we’re seeing that even in case you’re one of the best, girls should not paid their fair proportion.”
“It’s time that we give our daughters the identical alternatives as our sons and guarantee girls are paid what they deserve,” Biden added.
Different notable celebrities that known as out Clark’s wage included Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis, who shared a graphic of Clark’s wage to her Instagram account with the caption: “That is OUTRAGEOUS!” and At present present co-host Hoda Kotb.
Kotb known as Clark’s $76,535 first-year wage “ridiculous” throughout a current episode of the present. “After I noticed the quantity, $76,000 within the first yr and $78,000 within the second yr, and $85,000 within the third yr, for anyone who’s now the face of girls’s basketball, it appeared form of ridiculous,” Kotb mentioned. “A man who’s within the NBA, first yr, they will get $10m.”
The Impartial has contacted Nike for remark.
