Caitlin Clark is one of the biggest sports superstars on the planet right now and has already led to a surge of interest in the WNBA after she was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. But any fan hoping to buy one of her jerseys to support her for this upcoming season will be waiting quite a while.
Nike offered a limited number of ready-made jerseys for sale immediately after she was selected in the WNBA Draft, but they all sold out in less than two hours after she was selected in the draft. And it sounds like it’s going to take up to four months for more jerseys to be sent out to fans.
“We are currently sold out of our initial batch of this jersey– if you choose to place a pre-order today, our restock will be available to ship in August, please see details below. Please trust that we are working hard to service your order,” a disclaimer on Fanatics’ site says.
The Indiana Fever begin their WNBA season on May 14 and the game of their regular season is Sept. 19. So this is a particularly horrible mistake because fans will not have their jersey until the WNBA season is almost over.
Needless to say, this led to a lot of reactions on social media.
How can two huge companies like @Fanatics and @nike not produce Caitlin Clark jerseys before the start of the season in May? @FanaticsSucks https://t.co/na3Rsh6Pm2
— tjfronius (@TJFronius) April 18, 2024
This is a disgrace. The regular season ends in September and Fanatics/Nike continue to become a monopoly and benefit instead of those like Caitlin Clark and the fans. https://t.co/na3Rsh6Pm2
— tjfronius (@TJFronius) April 18, 2024
Oh man who could have seen this coming? Fanatics is the worst. https://t.co/ZfOyjtem4b
— Nate HP Peterson (@nateHP_56) April 18, 2024
This isn’t a blunder this is status quo
— Andrew Livingston (@AndrewLiv) April 17, 2024
Of what year
— wolvesneverleft (@burgleurturt) April 18, 2024
Shameful.
— Bussy Deans (@Deansy91) April 18, 2024
No wonder the WNBA pays their players a fraction of what the NBA pays
— Brian Kallio (@bfkallio) April 17, 2024
This is certainly not a good look for Nike.
