Caitlin Clark signing 8 figure deal with Nike
- Thread starter Mountain Man Hawk
- Start date
The crazy thing to think about, is that it's not beyond possibility that she actually succeeds greatly in the pro game playing at a very high level with elite talent on her team. Imagine if she helps bring the Fever to heights, or if she DOES move the needle going forward for the WNBA---and all the naysayers or doubters are proven wrong. Lots of fresh goals for a competitor, and this current moment could only be the tip.
Happening all day on Twitter. People saying it’s racist that CC got a shoe deal before A’ja Wilson.
I say this as a newly minted WBB fan (well, mostly CC fan). I will have interest in watching the players Clark played against like Angel and the LSU/South Carolina players, because I feel like I am invested in their story, even if I don't like parts of it. I am also interested in some other players like Brink because they are contemporaries of Clark and well, for Brink, she isn't horrible to look at. It will take me a good minute to care about the majority of the veterans, even Megan Gustafson. I am just not invested in them, and I am not sure I ever will be. And to be fair I feel the same way about the current men's players. I just don't care about any of them, because I have not invested in watching them in college for a period of years.
I'm mostly thinking about Clark's singular popularity and success, but the WNBA thing is a story. Not unusual for a few players to rope you into a team, and things build from there. (That's pretty much how I started watching the Colts back in the Dallas Clark/Bob Sanders days, or SF when Beathard and Kittle joined.)
An old guard vs. new guard storyline for the WNBA would be a pretty intriguing narrative, once the old guard names and personalities insert themselves. Perhaps not intentional, but the comments from Diana Taurasi (mostly overblown as the media likes to do) were brilliant from a marketing standpoint.
They may still try to make Angel Reese/Caitlin Clark a thing, but that effort is beyond boring now compared to what would develop from this other OG/NG narrative. --(Although it's intriguing to know what might transpire behind the scenes between Reese and her teammate Cordoso. That seems some weird drama waiting to happen. I wonder if they can truly sweep it under.)
Last edited:
We were talking about the role of Connor in all of this. Given the pacers/fever ownership overlap, is it plausible that they chummed the waters in Indy hiring Connor if it might factor into Clark's decision? Not that they would hire someone not qualified, but if he's looking for a job they might make room for him, if it means Clark might declare. Crazy?
This is how the UFC became so big. They had a show on the former channel Spike (which I worked at back in the day) that had a show called the The Ultimate Fighter. The show let people into the lives of the fighters thus people being invested in the fighter's stories. It's smart business and it helped turn the UFC into a multi-billion dollar business.
Last edited:
One other thought on this is that fortune favors the bold. If Clark was offered by UConn, I doubt she would be the phenomenon she is now. She took her talents to Iowa to see just how far she could lift the program on her back. She didn't hit the portal and lifted the team to one step short of the top of the mountain. Twice. All the while draining deep 3s and dishing spectacular dimes. And, Bluder let her do it. It was risky but in the end, the reward was utterly massive, and continues to unfold. The salty vets can be salty, but they all pretty much ganged up on super teams taking an "easy" less bold path. America loves an underdog, especially one with poise and grace, who can deliver entertaining goods. I suppose not unlike Maximus in Gladiator. Just a great story all around, and America can't get enough. Awesome job, Caitlin.
NO. Her deal with Nike ended when she left Iowa, (the contract she was under). In the last week both Adidas and UA have come HARD after Clark with deals. Supposedly Steph Curry (who is UA's biggest NBA client) sat in on the CC negotiations. Nike knew they had to sign her to a new mega deal, or lose out on the current Clark frenzy. Deal appears to be in the 25 MILLION $ range. Crazy shit...... You go girl.....
Last edited:
Of course. Predictable as the sun rising and setting. I pay it no mind anymore.
Honestly I'll be shocked if she doesn't average around 9 assists/game at least, unless she has to share time. She's an elite passer, and she'll be surrounded by better players. I also think they will use her off the ball some as a 2 or 3, but she'll play solid minutes.
Not a yearly deal, and the time frame has not been released. Still has to be the biggest contract signed by a female athlete? Maybe Serena, but I don't know....
Totally blew my mind that people made those statements. It was like people thought the U of I was paying her millions in NIL. It was coming from her endorsements and they aren't going anywhere. Her star power is even greater now than it was at Iowa.
Can you imagine Under Armor coming hard enough at you for an endorsement to bring Steph Curry to the room, and you say NO?!? She's this generation's Michael Jordan, and that's no longer an exaggeration! She completely rewrote the entire book for women's basketball.
I think most of this is already out there but here's a little more on the deal
I still think it would be funny if the Diana T vs Clark thing was real. ( its mostly media crap). Maybe not this year, but shortly i don't think the 41 year old DT will want ANY part of CC.......Her going on about CC having to play against grown women now. Well sure, your old enough to be her Mommy for Christ's sake.. lolol......
Last edited:
This is what Taurasi did to rookie Kelsey Plum when she couldn't keep up with the young legs.
Anyone that applied, even approved (takes years), would have to be actively using it to retain it.
I believe demonstrated intent qualifies as use. In this example, if you are developing a shoe in any form (designs, etc.) that's enough to keep the trademark.
You get it
A lot of people think someone can get a trademark on something that could be valuable and then just sit on it to sell.
You are right, there is a lot of misinformation about trademarks. Definitely would be a trademark application based on intent to use, but you have to think it occurred to more than one of the players in the shoe market to try to get that application on file. Then there is the other merchandising opportunities. There was nothing stopping CC herself, the University of Iowa, or anyone else filing an intent to use application for that mark for items other than shoes. It would be pretty easy to sell t-shirts or coffee mugs or whatever.
A quick search shows someone in South Dakota filed for a Logo3 trademark in February, although it hasn't been reviewed or approved.
It's odd how some people (including players) want to keep pointing and btching about WNBA salaries.
In a league that (up to this point) hasn't been able to draw enough audience to justify it's existence, let alone high salaries, the players should simply be happy to pull a check of any kind for playing a game they love ...instead of only getting to play down at the local rec center after their shift at Kohl's or Avis.
She talks crap about a reality check coming for CC her rookie year, well, watching that clip it seems her time in the league is about done, so I doubt she'll be around to provide that check.
So, these women whom the majority of went to college for at least 4 years and assumedly got a degree are automatically going to end up at Kohl's or Avis?
Everybody is talking about Clark’s side of the deal (and rightly so) but Nike is going to make a ton of money off CC - a hell of a lot more than $28M.
Nike now almost certainly has rights to other CC branded gear as well …. how many adults and girls aged 5-17 will want CC shoes/gear the next 8 years?
Nike now almost certainly has rights to other CC branded gear as well …. how many adults and girls aged 5-17 will want CC shoes/gear the next 8 years?
Hopefully she gets a piece of the backend with a percentage of sales. Assuming she continues to drain logo bombs and dish sweet dimes, she is going to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of 8 years. Every little girl who gets a pair of shoes will need a new pair the next year after she outgrows them. It should be a license to print money.
Good question… but Tiger was HUGE when he “came out” and he had a weekly world-wide stage too! #22 has done well for herself though, no doubt about it. Sports has gotten bigger in the years since Tiger became a household word…there is more out there to get now than 25 years ago… thanks to folks like Tiger.
Yep, Nike is going to rake in hundreds of millions selling CC gear. I would love to read that contract. If she negotiated a percentage of sales also, even a small fraction, the $3.5M per year is ridiculously low.
All of these stories were based on one Tweet that was made in jest.
Franisdanarc cannot think things through...he reads them so they must be true.
I use CC to explain to my 11 year old daughter the popularity and dominance of TW back in his prime.
I'm going to say it right now. Nike got the better end of this deal.
Nike took all the risk....hopefully it will work out for all parties.
Similar threads
