Caitlin Clark was selected with the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft earlier this month and now is slated to sign a new endorsement deal with Nike as her professional career begins. According to a report from The Athletic, Clark is expected to sign a $28 million contract with Nike, and that deal will include her own signature shoe.
Clark previously had a name, image, and likeness deal with Nike during her time at Iowa. She had signed that particular deal in 2022, but it expired at the end of the 2023-24 season. This new contract would be the most lucrative endorsement deal for a women's basketball player in history.
According to The Wall Street Journal and The Athletic, both Adidas and Under Armour also spoke with Clark regarding an endorsement deal back in February. Puma was interested in signing Clark but reportedly left the discussions when the company learned that the bidding would start at $3 million annually.
Under Armour reportedly offered the former Hawkeyes star $16 million over a four-year deal, while Adidas offered a four-year, $6 million contract. Both of those offers also included a signature shoe.
During her time at Iowa, Clark made an estimated $3 million in NIL money as he had endorsement deals with the likes of Gatorade and State Farm. Clark will make $76,000 from her WNBA salary during her rookie season.
Clark was selected with the top pick in this month's draft by the Indiana Fever and will now team up with former South Carolina star Aliyah Boston. She averaged 31.6 points and led Iowa to the program's second consecutive national title game.
Clark had a historic career at Iowa in which she scored the most points in Division I history by either a male or female.
