Mystics rookie F Chamique Holdsclaw signed a five-year
shoe and apparel deal with Nike yesterday that "some sports
industry experts estimate could be worth more than" $1M,
according to Athelia Knight of the WASHINGTON POST. Nike
execs and Holdsclaw's agent Lon Babby "declined to disclose"
the terms of the deal, but Babby said it is the "largest
contract ever" for a WNBA player. Holdsclaw "apparently
will earn more" than other WNBA Nike endorsers such as
Comets G Cynthia Cooper and F Sheryl Swoopes and Sparks C
Lisa Leslie. Nike Dir of Women's & Olympic Sports Marketing
Sandi Bittler said that Holdsclaw will be "the only WNBA
player" in the upcoming season to wear the "Air
Flightposite" and that she "will work with" Nike to develop
a signature shoe over the next year. Holdsclaw will also
wear "other athletic and leisure apparel" off the court.
Univ. of OR Warsaw Sports Marketing Center Dir Rick Burton:
"I think the package she signs with Nike, if it is a
multiyear package, will reach into the millions." Burns
Sports President Bob Williams said that Holdsclaw "could
earn between" $300,000-500,000 a year from the deal
(WASHINGTON POST, 5/11). BLOOMBERG NEWS' Scott Soshnick
reports that Babby said that the deal is "by far" the
largest shoe and apparel contract "ever signed by a female
athlete" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/11). The AP cites "agents
close to the situation," who said that Holdsclaw's Nike deal
"falls far short of" $1M (AP, 5/11).
WOULD SHE BE THE FOCUS? Reebok, adidas and Puma also
bid for Holdsclaw, and in Portland, Jeff Manning reports
that these companies "had hoped to use Nike's success in
women's basketball against it. How much room does Nike have
for Holdsclaw, they asked rhetorically" (OREGONIAN, 5/11).
