Basketball phenom Caitlin Clark is about to nail down a Nike endorsement deal that is expected to net her $20 million — scads compared to her new salary with the Women's National Basketball Association, The Athletic reported.
The deal will likely come with a signature Caitlin Clark shoe, according to industry sources.
Clark, who has blown away the competition in games with her Hawkeyes University of Iowa team to become the WNBA's No. 1 draft pick Monday — and was scooped up by the Indiana Fever — was reportedly also parrying deals from Adidas and Under Armour.
No biggie for her, she told The Athletic, except for the amount of the pending deal. Clark is used to raking in sponsor deals as a college player.
"If I'm being completely honest, I feel like it doesn't change a ton from how I lived my life over the course of the last year," she said.
"Sponsorships stay the same. The people around me, agents and what-not, have been able to help me and guide me through the course of the last year. I don't know if I would be in this moment if it wasn't for a lot of them," she added.
The hoop star has raised the profile of women's basketball tremendously.
The women's NCAA Tournament set viewership records with every game in which Clark's Iowa team played. It peaked with 18.9 million viewers for the Hawkeyes' national title game loss to South Carolina.
Clark earlier this year beat hoop star Pete Maravich's record to become the all-time top scorer by a Division I male or female basketball player.
Women's basketball may be on the cusp of outshining some of the men's teams, but that's not the case for WNBA salaries.
Clark will earn $338,056 over four years, according to the WNBA's collective bargaining agreement.
San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama — the No. 1 pick in last year's NBA draft — signed a $55 million four-year contract.
That even got to President Joe Biden. He lamented on social media that while "women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all ... right now we're seeing that even if you're the best, women are not paid their fair share."
Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 16, 2024
But right now we're seeing that even if you're the best, women are not paid their fair share.
It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.
