Women’s basketball superstar Caitlin Clark just signed a massive deal with Nike that is reportedly worth $28 million over eight years. It sounds like a lot of money, but one prominent former Nike executive thinks she could have and should have received a much more lucrative deal.
Former Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro helped negotiate Michael Jordan’s original shoe deal with Nike as depicted in the 2023 movie Air. He thinks that Clark should have gotten more money annually and also a cut of every Clark-branded item sold, just like Jordan got with his Jordan-branded items.
“She should have gotten a piece of everything,” Vaccaro told TMZ last week. “Just like Michael Jordan.”
Vaccaro seemed to think her representation let her down by failing to capitalize on the hype and fame that she had after leading the Iowa Hawkeyes to the national championship game against UConn last month. Vaccaro believes she can be the greatest women’s basketball player in the world, but that it’s going to take time and this was the chance to capitalize.
“She will never be at a higher peak than she was during college this last year in that Final Four,” Vaccaro said. “If she’s going to be the greatest woman player in the world, it’s going to take time to do that — and she can do that.”
“I’m saying to you, they messed up,” Vaccaro said. “They should have held on to the last drop.”
Obviously, it’s pretty brutal news for Clark that she didn’t get the deal Vaccaro felt like she deserved, and it led to a lot of reactions on social media.
I think she fumbled tons of bags. This & the Big 3 are 2 of the main ones 🤔
— Jimmy Bucketzzzz (@JimmyBucketzzzz) April 27, 2024
She was robbed
— Guti (@gutileonardo) April 27, 2024
It feels like she got a deal that can mirror that but I also don’t know every detail of her terms either https://t.co/YABTzIdghs
— Larry (@larry_thigpen) April 27, 2024
Michael Jordan put most of his deal into Nike stocks and bonds and advised other players like Barkley to do the same. Hopefully she does the same thing.
— Mason Jiller (@mason_jiller247) May 1, 2024
Might be right on this one Sonny https://t.co/saUhLRShNY
— Chris Barnhart (@ChrisBarnhart52) May 1, 2024
Caitlin Clark should’ve gotten Michael Jordan-esque Nike deal, shoe industry legend says
Caitlin Clark got a huge deal from Nike, but one of the most famous sneaker executives in history said the iconic women’s basketball superstar deserved a whole lot more.#CaitlinClark pic.twitter.com/vg8Yoas3GY
— WAQAS YAMEEN (@waqasyameen786) April 27, 2024
Still, $28 million is life-changing money. She’s undoubtedly happy about that. But it should have been more.
[TMZ]
