Caitlin Clark’s $28M Nike deal makes up for rookie salary

Clark’s 8-12 months agreement with Nike comes with $3.5 million a yr and her own signature shoe.

If you had been disappointed to see the salary Caitlin Clark will be making with the WNBA’s Indiana Fever as a rookie, the figures on her new Nike shoe offer need to perk you up.

The 22-12 months-outdated basketball phenomenon reportedly signed a contract with Nike that will pay her $28 million more than the subsequent eight decades. That breaks down to $3.5 million a year and will include things like her personal signature shoe. The Athletic reports that the shoe giant was in a bidding war with Adidas and Under Armour to indicator Clark. She already had a small business romance with Nike likely back to her college basketball days at Iowa.

Just after breaking several all-time NCAA basketball records in the past four decades, Clark was chosen No. 1 in general in this month’s 2024 WNBA Draft. That was hardly a surprise, but quite a few were deflated when they acquired what she would be earning as a experienced.

Clark’s rookie contract with the Fever is for $338,056 around 4 decades, or about $84,000 a calendar year. It’s a fantastic wage for most folks, but the truth that arguably the most common athlete about ideal now would be producing so substantially considerably less than the NBA’s stars seemed unfair to many.

The freshly minted WNBA star will also make endorsement money from organizations which include State Farm, Gatorade, Goldman Sachs and Panini. Owning a signature Nike sneaker puts her in a small club of women’s basketball gamers. Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart will be the only other WNBA gamers with a signature shoe actively playing this time.