The race to tie Clark to a shoe contract ranked as the "most competitive in the history of women’s basketball"Getty Images
WNBA Indiana Fever G Caitlin Clark is set to
sign an eight-year deal with Nike worth up to $28M, but the "reality is that Clark striking a deal with Nike was far from a slam dunk,” according to Rachel Bachman of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The race to tie Clark to a shoe contract ranked as the "most competitive in the history of women’s basketball.” Nike had "already signed Clark once before," but that was in 2022, before she “took over the national sports conversation." Clark’s deal was "set to expire at the end of the 2023-24 college basketball season." Excel Sports Management, which represents Clark, told brands -- including Nike, Adidas, Under Armour and Puma -- that winning Clark’s commitment “would take a historic offer” of $3M a year “at the very minimum.” Some of the brand reps were "shocked by the number” and a few shoe-company execs believed that “being a college player was a major part of her allure.” Puma “promptly dropped out.” A source said that several brands went as far as making their offers “conditional on her staying in school for another year.” Adidas held a Zoom call with Clark that was “supposed to be 30 minutes long” but “turned into an hour.” Adidas execs said that they “were surprised by how engaged, curious and well-prepared” Clark was on the call. But Adidas’s bid “fell far short of the mark” at $6M over four years. In the end the “closest contender for Nike was Under Armour" who reportedly offered $16M over four years with a signature shoe. Nike’s initial offer of $3.5M a year “didn’t initially come with a signature shoe,” but the brand “upped its offer to include a signature shoe” (
WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/19).
WORTH EVERY PENNY: ADWEEK’s Jason Notte noted Clark spent her collegiate career “showing the kind of value she could bring to NIL sports marketing partners,” including Xfinity, Goldman Sachs, Hy-Vee and Buick. TV data and analytics company EDO President & CEO Kevin Krim said that even on draft night the top-performing ads of the ESPN broadcast were “two State Farm ads and one 45-second Gatorade spot -- all featuring Clark.” Krim: “She’ll be worth it for Nike, without a doubt. This is not a fluke. She’s had a consistent, sustained, positive impact for all these brands that she’s aligned with.” According to EDO, ads shown during NCAA women’s basketball games with Clark were 7% "more effective than those that aired in games without her." During her 266 appearances in State Farm ads last year, for example, those spots were 46% "more effective at driving engagement than the average State Farm spot" and another 28% "more effective when they aired during one of Clark’s games" (
ADWEEK, 4/19).
