Caitlin Clark's Reported $28 Million Nike Deal Will Set Another Record
The newly-minted WNBA player is making history again.
One week after becoming the WNBA's top draft pick, Caitlin Clark is already set to score a league record.
Clark is reportedly nearing an eight-year Nike deal valued at $28 million—the highest value contract ever floated to a WNBA player, according to reports by The Athletic and the Wall Street Journal.
Once the paperwork's signed, she may also design Nike's next It-sneaker: Clark's deal also includes a signature shoe. She reportedly turned down proposals to become the women's face of Nike's Kobe Bryant line instead.
In her most recent season for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, Clark broke the record for an all-time women's scorer in the NCAA.
The highest-scoring player in the entire NCAA had her pick of brands to represent as a new player on the Indiana Fever. The WSJ and Athletic noted Adidas, Puma, and Under Armour each courted Clark with deals of their own. None came close to Nike's proposed $28 million. Under Armour had the next highest bid, at $16 million over four years.
Clark became a crowd-favorite during last month's NCAA tournament, sinking three-pointer after three-pointer and attracting the highest-ever viewership for a women's championship game with an audience of 18.9 million. Fans were outraged last week to learn that Clark—the highest-scoring player in both NCAA leagues—would only earn $76,535 annually as a WNBA rookie. Meanwhile, a first-round draft pick in the NBA can earn sums as high as $10 million.
Clark walked the orange carpet at the 2024 WNBA Draft in a white set by Prada—the first time the Italian brand has dressed any player, man or woman, for a draft.
A prospective Nike deal isn't the only historic fashion-meets-sports moment of Clark's burgeoning WNBA career. The two-time national player of the year was dressed by stylist Adri Zgirdea Toth for the 2024 draft in head-to-toe Prada—which the house had never done before for a player of any gender.
"Dressing an athlete for the draft is a first for Prada, and this is obviously a first for Caitlin, too," Zgirdea Toth told Marie Claire. "Both are at the forefront of what they do—it’s almost too perfect."
