CAITLIN CLARK'S NIKE DEAL SETS NEW BAR, LEAVING MODEST SALARY IN THE DUST
- Caitlin Clark inked a $28 million, eight-year Nike deal, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- That's exponentially more than her base salary in the WNBA.
But the 22-year-old breakout will more than make up forthat amount thanks to a freshly-inked deal with Nike worth as much as $28 million over the course of eight years, The Wall Street Journal reports.
While Nike already had an endorsement deal with Clark that expired at the end of her senior season at the University of Iowa, a bidding war ensued between Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, and Puma that was the most competitive in women's basketball history, according to the Journal.
Talks heated up at NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis in February, when Clark's reps at Excel Sports Management told suitors she was seeking a minimum $3 million commitment annually, according to the Journal.
The Journal also reports Clark — who is a marketing major at Iowa — was keenly involved in some of the negotiations.
Clark, who's helped usher in a significant shift in popularity between men's and women's basketball, is the NCAA's biggest-ever scorer and was the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
She wore a $17,000 Prada getup to the event, dripping in more than $10,000 in diamonds — even as her estimated base entry salary of $76,535 raised eyebrows.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert later responded to some of the criticism, telling CNBC that Clark "has the ability to make up to a half of a million dollars just in WNBA wages this year." She also noted Clark's many lucrative endorsement prospects.
Clark has an NIL valuation of a reported $3.1 million. In addition to Nike, she has previously partnered with the likes of Gatorade and State Farm.
Neither Nike nor Excel Sports Management immediately responded to Business Insider's requests for comment.