Rumors began to circulate last week that Caitlin Clark, the top pick in this year's WNBA Draft, was close to signing a landmark eight-figure endorsement deal with Nike. We're now learning more details about what led to this potential signing with the Swoosh.
As reported by Rachel Bachman for The Wall Street Journal last week, Clark is expected to sign an eight-year deal with Nike worth up to $28 million, with one of the incentives including her getting a signature basketball shoe down the road. Nike initially signed Clark to an NIL deal in October 2022 as a sophomore at the University of Iowa, but the deal expired at the end of her 2024 college basketball season.
To the surprise of nobody, Nike wasn't the only sportswear brand that was interested in signing Clark. According to the report, Adidas offered $6 million over four years and designed a prototype signature model for Clark. Puma backed out of the negotiations when it learned that Clark's team was expecting $3 million a year minimum. Under Armour offered $16 million over four years, and a signature shoe.
Nike's reported offer to Clark was only for $3.5 million a year, but its eight-year term was for a longer period of time than Under Armour's. The Swoosh eventually added a signature model to its final offer, leading to Clark's expected signing.
