Maybe. Or, you are simply creating a secondary market where prices are much higher there than at Wilson. I would flood the market with a version until people didn’t want it, and then sell a different version.
Caitlin Clark's Endorsements: Nike ($28M Shoe Deal), State Farm, Gatorade, Wilson, Gainbridge, Hy-Vee, Panini Trading Cards, Comcast, Bose, ShootAWay
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
If I were Wilson I would take their money now! LOL
Unlike Nike shoes and Nike clothing, kids won't grow out of these basketballs and they will have a much longer life. Eventually the sales of these basketballs are going to taper off after the initial surge, imo....
Can someone at Wilson in charge of the supply chain do their job effectively?
So all this Kobe stuff is cool and all, but when is she getting her own shoe? I thought there'd be a Logo3 by now....
2026-27 release.
I am sure Nike's marketing machine will continue to promote Caitlin's partnership with them. The $28 mil isn't just a shoe deal.
I'm fully aware its not just a shoe deal. She also supposed to have a clothing line, (probably something along the line of the Jordan Jumpman clothing line). No doubt this will be in crazy demand by girls and young women. As well as other marketing ventures...
how would you like to be a parent of young CC fans. "Mom, my shoes and jersey don't fit! Let's go to Dick's Sporting Goods & get new ones!!!"
The Sabrina shoe at Dicks will cost you $130. The jersey is around $100. A t-shirt is $40. A hoodie is $80.
Link to the Sabrina line at Dick's:
Absolutely. Fortunately I'm not footing the bill for my 4 grandaugters or 3 grandsons. Lolol.. The boys are all BIG into basketball and baseball, and play on competitive teams. They all have three different gloves and bats. My oldest grandson who will be 12 next week is a 5'9" lanky lefty with a really nice arm. Pitches, plays first and right field. The younger two both pitch and catch and have their own set of catchers gear. I have no idea what my son has invested in all this gear, but I imagine its considerable. Fortunately, he's got a really good job that pays well.... Lolol..
Unless they think her signature shoe will just cannibalize existing sales, I would get that thing out pronto for a 2025-2026 release. Just leaving money on the table with girls and their parents begging Nike to take their money.
Nah. Kids and athletes always want the newest kicks. There were plenty of shoes out there before Jordans, but everybody had to have them regardless of the cost......
That's my point. If existing nike women's/girl's basketball shoe sales are $100M (just throwing a random number out there) and the total amount that market is $500M, they should do everything they can to get caitlin's shoe out ASAP. It can't be that hard to adapt an existing shoe for Caitlin and get it to market. It's not like they are reinventing rubber and leather.
If you google CC shoe deal it basically says it takes 2 to 3 years to go from scratch to actually marketing , producing and rolling out a shoe, hence 26-27. Aja Wilson has had a deal in the works for a couple of years and her's is suppose to launch in 2025. The caveat was in Nike and Clark had been in discussion about all this during her NIL year last year then it could be sooner. Probably not likely though that they got that far until they signed her to the latest deal.
Does anyone else wonder if Caitlin constantly changing shoes has a negative affect on her shooting? From 50 feet out a small variance can make a big impact, whether it’s bounce, stability or grip from the shoe.
It's funny I was thinking the same thing. Who knows though, maybe they are fundamentally the same shoe with different window dressing.
This summer I had a New Balance sports shoe in a wide (2E) that I liked so much I got a second pair in a different color. The first pair was "made in Vietnam." The 2nd pair was "made in Indonesia." They are not exactly the same in construction, even though they are the same model number. And the first pair is more comfortable than the 2nd. It's weird and disappointing, to say the least.
Last edited:
Can we talk about “fans” flooding our girl’s socials because she endorsed Kamala Harris (“Liked” Taylor Swifts endorsement)? Let’s ride with our Iowa girl.
Like a good neighbor.Chris Paul shouts out Caitlin Clark’s assist record
Nike really has screwed up with CC. They should have signed her after the first NC game and made a her first shoe a variation of the Bruce Lee proto 5 which she always wore at Iowa. It took a weekend to design Jordan’s first shoe from scratch. I don’t think they know what they have with Clark unless they are trying not to impact the feelings of other WNBA players.
I really think that’s what’s happening. We know that both Nike and the W overall are on the same page politically. Nike doesn’t want to piss anyone off. I think they’re just sitting on CC just so another company can’t have her.
probably true. I never knew the W players and establishment were so mentally soft before this year. Pissing and moaning about Caitlin's attention, and grinding the axe on and off the court. Angel and the W crying about one dude outside of a hotel asking her a question or heckling her while filming on a camera. The WNBA players association issuing social media smearing Brennan - a journalist - for asking Carrington about the eye poke. For trying to project such a machismo image, collectively they are a bunch of snowflakes.
Lolo.. Of course we never knew. Hell, nobody paid ANY attention to this shit show until this year, and they've done everything they could to screw this up. Whoever runs their marketing should be fired 6 months ago....
Nike isn't perfect in the marketing department but their timing with CC up until this point has been remarkably on point. She is one of the most important athletes in their entire pipeline and they know that. Easily #1 in terms of potential return on investment. I don't disagree that Nike is trying to please multiple disparate parties here but that's nothing new for any company with Nike's footprint. If Nike is actively withholding any products for political or professional relationship reasons it's because in their analysis the $$ lost is negligible to them.
There's something to be said about letting all this simmer and capitalize when people are REALLY jonesing. In 8 months, especially with any key offseason Fever acquisitions or draftees, people will be Rabid for anything CC after this 9 month heroin binge. (May not be feasible to get it out in 8 months- as someone already pointed out) A good analogy here I think is pre-game sales for video games. It's a small little release valve even if it ain't the real thing. You literally feel closer to the end of that rainbow after the agonizing wait.
Not for nothing, in big corporations key products like these often require more time than normal development cycles. Just because of the stupid bullshit endemic to these corporations. Suddenly it has to get 2 more approvals and wait for 2 committees for approvals that are inherently useless and exist for nothing except ego and self-validation.
A lot of people would disagree. They could’ve used her in their promotions a ton at this point and it would have brought a lot of the massive Clark fanbase to the table for them. They’re deliberately choosing not to because they’re scared of the W powers that be turning on them. To the higher ups in the W offices, Clark and her fanbase are villains. So…they sit on her. At least another company can’t take advantage of her popularity, amirite?
meanwhile, Wilson can barely keep the "Caitlin" basketballs in stock.
At the 1:15 mark, listen to what Nike thinks about CC.
According to Nike, Caitlin is doing for women's basketball what Tiger Woods did for golf (he, too, brought new fans to the sport).
According to Nike, Caitlin is doing for women's basketball what Tiger Woods did for golf (he, too, brought new fans to the sport).
