Caitlin Clark’s lucrative endorsement contract with Nike has caught the attention of former sports executive Sonny Vaccaro, who believes she should have received an equally significant deal similar to Michael Jordan’s initial agreement. In 1984, Vaccaro played a pivotal role in signing Jordan to his first partnership with Nike. He explained that Clark deserves “a piece of everything” because her remarkable performance during the recent NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament final was at its peak when compared against all prior basketball generations for both male and female athletes combined, except Jordan’s legendary run. Vaccaro further stated that if she aspires to become the greatest woman player in history, it will take time to achieve this feat, but Clark has a chance of realizing her dream.
Vaccaro also criticized how poorly handled the deal was by agents and suggested they mishandled it because some players feel obligated towards Nike due to previous name, image, and likeness agreements that other generations did not have access to. Accordingly, he pointed out that Sabrina Ionescu is another player who faced similar issues with endorsement deals.
Clark signed an eight-year contract worth up to $28 million before becoming the focal point of national discussions for her exemplary performance during the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament and breaking several scoring records in that year’s season, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Nike had initially signed Clark back in 2022 when she was not yet a household name. This deal is set to expire at the end of 2024; thus, Clark would become eligible for free agency.
The average salary offered by Nike stood at $3 million per year during negotiations with Clark, and they also proposed an annual remuneration of $3.5m in light of her potential to transcend women’s sports not only within the United States but globally as well. The company reportedly considered Clark a crucial player for their future plans regarding basketball events such as the Olympics scheduled for 2028 and 2032, which will be held respectively in Los Angeles (USA) and Brisbane (Australia). Nike is said to have presented her with an offer that included a signature shoe.
Under Armour came close to securing Clark’s endorsement; however, they offered her a four-year contract worth $16 million as reported by The Athletic, while Stephen Curry was involved in the pitch according to The Journal.
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