Insider addresses delay with Caitlin Clark’s signature shoe
from Sai Mohan, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
Caitlin Clark’s popularity has transcended the WNBA to the point where Fever’s games averaged more national TV viewers than NBA franchises such as the 76ers and Spurs this past season. Furthermore, Fever’s games had a higher attendance (17,055) than at least five NBA teams, including the Pacers (16,528).
Typically, when athletes reach the stratosphere Clark currently occupies, they are granted signature shoes by their respective brands. In Clark’s case, Nike hasn’t launched the merchandise for a specific reason.
According to insider Ethan Strauss, Clark’s signature shoe could be delayed until the 2026-27 season since Nike plans to launch a sneaker for reigning MVP A’ja Wilson first.
“Based on conversations with people in the know, it indeed has something to do with WNBA MVP and Nike athlete A’ja Wilson,” Strasuss wrote. “But beyond Wilson, it’s about a culture at the company that’s more concerned with quelling noise rather than making it, as Nike once used to.”
The report added that Nike is concerned about unnecessary backlash if it launches a sneaker for Clark before Wilson, a more accomplished player with three MVP awards and two WNBA titles. However, Strauss argued that there’s precedent for a rookie such as Clark to have a signature shoe, pointing to LeBron James sporting his Nike signature sneaker as a rookie in the 2003-04 NBA season.
Clark signed an eight-year deal with Nike after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Fever earlier this year. It was later confirmed that she would receive her signature shoe, but no timeline was given. The Wall Street Journal estimated the deal to be worth around $28 million over eight years.
As for Wilson, the Aces star revealed in 2023 that Nike had begun working on her signature shoe. Earlier this year, Nike confirmed that the shoe was slated for a spring 2025 launch.
Both Wilson and Clark are currently in the WNBA playoffs. While Wilson’s Aces swept the Storm to advance to the semifinals on Tuesday, Clark’s Fever will face the Sun in a must-win game on Wednesday with their season on the line. The Fever lost Game 1 of the first-round series last Sunday.