WNBA's Caitlin Clark Reportedly Will Get $28M from Nike Shoe Contract

Caitlin Clark's new Nike deal will pay the Indiana Fever guard up to $28 million over eight years, according to Rachel Bachman of the Wall Street Journal.

The Athletic's Shams Charania, Mike Vorkunov and Ben Pickman initially reported on April 17 that Nike had secured the signature of the Iowa legend, with $20-plus million slated as the payout. As part of the agreement, she'll also get her own shoe.

Under Armour and Adidas both made pitches to Clark, per The Athletic, and Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry met with her directly on behalf of the former.

Nike is certainly placing a big bet on Clark, but the numbers speak for themselves in terms of the 22-year-old's on-court production and her box-office potential. She averaged 28.4 points and 8.2 assists over four years with the Hawkeyes, and the end of her college run saw her feature in multiple NCAA tournament games that set viewership records.

The early returns point to the sizable following she built at Iowa translating over to her WNBA career as well. An average of 2.45 million viewers watched the 2024 WNBA draft, quadrupling the previous all-time mark (601,000).

Clark's Fever jersey quickly sold out through Fanatics and the WNBA's official store, too, another sign of how her popularity is already bearing out in tangible terms for the WNBA and its corporate partners.