New Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark reportedly received several underwhelming offers from other major sportswear companies before agreeing to a deal with Nike.
Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft, secured a lucrative eight-year shoe deal with Nike worth $28 million. Surprisingly, other top sportswear companies reportedly came nowhere close to matching Nike’s offer to Clark.
According to a report from Rachel Bachman of The Wall Street Journal, Under Armour’s highest offer to Clark was a four-year deal worth $16 million. If that seems like a low-ball offer, consider that the offers from Puma and Adidas.
Per Bachman’s report, Puma offered the Iowa Hawkeyes legend a starting number of only $3 million per year. Adidas’ offer to Clark was said to be for only $1.5 million annually (a four-year deal worth $6 million).
Every offer Caitlin Clark got before signing with Nike 💰 @brkicks pic.twitter.com/fOS0DCmsV8
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 23, 2024
Clark, the NCAA all-time leading scorer in Division I basketball, led Iowa to consecutive national championship game appearances to close out her legendary college career. They lost to Angel Reese’s LSU Tigers in the 2023 championship game, and to the South Carolina Gamecocks in this year’s big game.
Caitlin Clark Will Immediately Change The WNBA Landscape
Even before she officially went first overall to the Fever, the WNBA announced that 36 of Indiana’s 40 games this season will be nationally televised. That’s all you need to know regarding how much of an impact Clark will make in the pros.
Basketball fans won’t have to wait too much longer for Clark’s WNBA debut, either. The Fever will open up their 2024 season on the road against Connecticut on May 14, with the home opener coming against New York two days later. Those two contests will air on ESPN2 and Amazon Prime Video, respectively.
