Caitlin Clark is a proverbial comet whose galactical skills have captured the attention of fans, the media and, most recently, multi-billion dollar companies, like Nike.
The apparel company, which previously had a NIL deal with Clark, recently signed the No.1 overall WNBA Draft pick to a lucrative $28 million deal that reportedly includes a signature shoe. An endorsement deal of that magnitude says Clark is worth the investment for the attention she brings to women’s basketball and the revenue that will inevitably follow her new WNBA career.
Still, I couldn’t help but wonder: If Clark received this large of a deal before ever playing a minute of professional basketball, was Nike always able to invest this amount of money in other women athletes? Yes, but not in the way we typically think.
The bidding war for Caitlin Clark wasn't even close in the end
• Nike: 8-years/$28 million
• Adidas: 4-years/$6 million
• Under Armour: 4-years/$16 million
• Puma: *dropped out after hearing $3 million*Nike flexing all over the competition pic.twitter.com/wsuwiHEn1m
— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) April 24, 2024
When it comes to following the “it” athletes, Nike owns that process fairly well. It’s been ahead of the curve several times, including when it partnered with college basketball star turned WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes in 1995 to drop the Air Swoopes. Nike came back to the WNBA well again with Lisa Leslie and her signature shoe — the Total Air 9, which was a whopping $140 in 1998 — and kept going with stars like Dawn Staley, Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, Chamique Holdsclaw and Diana Taurasi.
As with any trend, there are ebbs and flows, and when Nike didn’t see a strong enough return on investment with women’s signature shoes, it paused its production until a new wave of talent could convince it otherwise. Enter Elena Delle Donne and Sabrina Ionescu. Delle Donne received a signature shoe in 2022, and the New York Liberty’s current 3-point specialist, Ionescu, followed suit in 2023 after signing a deal with the brand in 2020 worth $24 million.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 15: The Nike shoes of Sabrina Ionescu #20 of the New York Liberty are seen during the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Aces in Game Three of the 2023 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center on October 15, 2023 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
That brings us to 2024, when — if it hadn’t already — the design work on Caitlin Clark’s signature will begin. What prompted Nike to jump back into the women’s signature market? Integrated marketing told them to.
No, really. It did.
Integrated marketing is a strategy companies use to align its internal and external marketing channels to promote a product (Caitlin Clark) within the same time frame and typically through some sort of campaign (the women’s college basketball season). The immediate benefit it provides is that it tells the same primary brand story through every possible touchpoint for that company’s target audience.
So, if fans discovered Caitlin Clark through a live TikTok feed and then suddenly visited that company’s website, where there were more videos and additional articles about Caitlin and the feed, fans would have been part of a targeted, holistic brand experience without even knowing it. The company just aligned its message and gave fans a chance to see the same content and storytelling in different formats.
Iowa-Maryland was the most-watched women’s college basketball game in Fox Sports history, averaging 1.58M viewers.
The 'Caitlin Clark Cam' drew over 800K views on TikTok. pic.twitter.com/wGvfo0JXxb
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 6, 2024
Once those same fans signal back through data that this is the type of content they want to consume, market value is generated, followed by actual return on investment. That’s where Nike saw value in its line of business and decided another signature shoe needed to happen.
What’s fascinating is that the caliber of talent Nike acquired during its pause in signature shoe production didn’t particularly dip. After all, Nike did sign two-time WNBA champion and two-time MVP A’ja Wilson to a contract in 2018. However, Wilson’s tenure might appear different from that of her fellow Nike counterparts because the latter possibly have benefited from the unexpected rise of integrated marketing.
Apr 1, 2024; Albany, NY, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) is interviewed after defeating the LSU Lady Tigers in the finals of the Albany Regional in the 2024 NCAA Tournament at MVP Arena. (Gregory Fisher/USA TODAY Sports)
In simpler terms, the rise in popularity of the WNBA and women’s college basketball has impeccably collided with our “gotta-have-it-at-my fingertips,” social media-influenced society in real-time. While it’s still a bit mystifying that Nike has not signed Wilson or more top women’s basketball athletes to a signature shoe deal, the paper trail has more than suggested that the time to pivot and invest is now, as Sports Business Journal notes.
Investing in women's sports isn't charity—it's a smart business move 👏
Arctos Partners' TJ Adeshola tells brands to take notes and tap into this market, which can drive significant business growth. #WCOS2024 pic.twitter.com/x5C9omYkzx
— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) April 16, 2024
Caitlin Clark created a historical moment for the game, but women’s sports is the movement. Nike has a chance to expand the movement further, starting with the remaining phenomenal athletes of the 2024 WNBA Draft class and even venturing over to the 2025 class, which includes front-runner Paige Bueckers, who already has an NIL deal with the company.
Another Nike athlete, Serena Williams, recently told Amanda Davies and Issy Ronal of CNN that investing in women comes with an all-but-sure reward:
“There is no risk (factor),” she said.
“Women’s sport is exciting; women are exciting to watch. What’s the difference? … I think that even more people watched the college women’s basketball than the men. So I think that people are realizing that is exciting to watch.”
The market is ready; your move, Nike.
