Caitlin Clark, who has quickly become the face of women’s basketball, is reportedly close to securing a lucrative 8-figure deal with Nike that will include her getting her own signature shoe.
Clark’s Nike Deal
Fox Business reported that after becoming a household name with her record-setting performance in her senior year at Iowa, Clark is reportedly preparing to sign an extremely lucrative deal with Nike.
Clark previously had a deal with Nike during her time in college, but that expired at the end of the women’s college basketball season last week. Nike even sold shirts that read “You break it, you own it” after Clark became the leading scorer in NCAA Division I women’s basketball, according to Sports Illustrated.
Clark reportedly received offers from brands like Under Armour and Adidas, the latter of which included a meeting with Stephen Curry. However, it sounds like she is eager to stick with Nike for the long haul.
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Clark Gets Drafted
On Monday night, Clark was the No. 1-overall draft pick by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft. Afterwards, Clark shared a touching moment with the team’s coach Lisa Bluder.
“I think the biggest thing is, I vividly remember coach Bluder during my home visit in my recruiting. … Sometime during my junior year, I think the biggest thing is, we talked about this moment,” Clark said, according to The New York Post. “We dreamed of this moment, but she also believed I would be here and she coached me really hard to get to this moment.”
“There was a lot of ups and downs,” she continued. “Something I really appreciated about coach Bluder is no matter what awards or success or wins we ever had or I had, it’s like she never stopped coaching me, she never stopped holding me accountable. … She believed I would be here from the day I committed to her, even before that when I was in eighth grade, but also she pushed me really hard to make me as good as I am.”
‘It’s Been A Whirlwind’
While appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show”, Clark opened up about how crazy her life has been since the draft.
“It’s been a whirlwind. … I feel like I’ve tried to do my best,” Clark said of the media attention she’s gotten. “I think that’s the biggest piece of advice [retired WNBA legend] Sue Bird gave me is, ‘Just take a breath, soak it in. You only get drafted one time, you only get these moments once, so you need to enjoy it. You can’t go back and do this ever again.’
“I haven’t slept much, which is maybe a good thing, maybe a bad thing — I don’t know,” she added. “We’ve been having fun and enjoying every single second. I think the biggest thing is how quick of a turnaround it is. It’ll be a big adjustment, I think I’ll be moving here in a like a week.”
Clark has made women’s basketball more popular than ever. It’s no wonder that Nike is eager to continue working with her.