Sonny Vaccaro, the former sports marketing executive who signed Michael Jordan to his first sneaker deal, believes Caitlin Clark deserved something akin to the legendary Nike contract.
Clark, after being drafted first overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA draft, signed an eight-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Nike. The contract included her own signature shoe, which, remarkably, has not been produced as of yet. We’ll get to that shortly.
What it didn’t include, however, was what only the top echelon of stars are ever able to negotiate in their endorsement deals – a percentage of the profits.
And in that, Vaccaro believes Clark’s agents did her wrong.
“She should have gotten a piece of everything,” he told TMZ. “Just like Michael Jordan.”
After all, did MJ ever account for 25% of the NBA’s entire business? Because if not, then CC has him beat.
Caitlin Clark Deserves Jordan-Level Respect From Nike
Vaccaro argues that Clark should have received a percentage of sales from every item bearing her name, similar to Jordan’s deal, which made him a billionaire.
He criticized Clark’s agents for not securing such terms, suggesting they mishandled negotiations.
“I’m saying to you, they messed up,” Vaccaro said. “They should have held on to the last drop.”
Jordan, a revered figure in the realms of basketball and business, is widely celebrated as one of the sport’s greatest all-around players. During his illustrious career, he led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships and amassed numerous accolades, including five MVP awards.
But his star power transcended the basketball court.
Jordan’s endorsement deals have been a significant part of his financial success, with his partnership with Nike, including the Air Jordan brand, being the most lucrative.
RELATED: Caitlin Clark Is Your Time Magazine 2024 Athlete Of The Year
Fumbled The Deal
Caitlin Clark’s star power also transcends the basketball court. She is inspiring a whole new generation of female athletes. And yet, nobody seems to be truly capitalizing on that fact.
Vaccaro suggests the height of Clark’s marketing appeal was when she was playing for Iowa and breaking NCAA records, rather than now, as she has won Rookie of the Year and Time Athlete of the Year as a WNBA star.
Even still, having shown her ability at the next level, Nike has yet to release Caitlin’s signature shoe. Why?
YouTuber Mick Talks Hoops claims Nike is in no hurry to produce the Caitlin Clark shoe because they have to get to other WNBA stars first. Um, excuse me?
“Nike have completely messed it up as well with their marketing. The people in Nike have said, basically, she is not getting her signature shoe any time soon,” he said. “Basically because they need to give A’ja Wilson her shoe first.”
“They’ll release a Paige Bueckers shoe. Bueckers is getting her shoe. They did not do the same for Caitlin Clark.”
Those shoes won’t sell a fraction of ones with Clark’s name, logo, or silhouette on them.
Mick concurs that Clark’s agents “fumbled” the ball here and says they should have been fired on the spot.
More about:WNBA News
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