Caitlin Clark’s rookie season is over, and seemingly everyone in the sports world took notice of her huge season. Everyone except for Nike.
The sports apparel giant has not made a commercial involving Clark since she began playing in the WNBA, where she led the league in assists and three-pointers made per game.
Additionally, one of the biggest marketing questions surrounding Clark is: when will she get a signature shoe? Nike has been lagging in that regard, with no shoe ready for this year or next year. The decision by the company to not completely lean into how much of a star Clark is and try to capitalize on her popularity has been baffling.
In an article published about the topic this week, Ethan Strauss headlined his article by saying Nike has “refused the Caitlin Clark windfall.”
In that article, Strauss says Nike hasn’t fully leaned into marketing Clark because of two reasons related to fear.
One, there is speculation that Nike fears backlash from the crowd that is upset over Clark’s popularity. There are plenty of people around the WNBA who are jealous of Clark and her popularity. Those are the same people who attack Clark on the court with cheap shots, left Clark off the Olympic team, and those are the media and fans who dislike her.
Two, there is speculation that Nike fears upsetting A’ja Wilson, the reigning WNBA MVP. There apparently is a narrative that Wilson is in line to get a signature shoe first, and Clark can’t leapfrog her, even though the demand for more Clark hype and merchandise is obvious.
Clark has been a boon to the WNBA, just like she was to the college game. She sold out road arenas in college, did the same in the pros, and her WNBA games draw triple the viewership of other games.
Final WNBA regular season viewership, all rated networks:
Caitlin Clark games – 1.178 mill
All other games – 394k
Difference – 199%
— Michael Mulvihill (@mulvihill79) September 20, 2024
No matter how much the media tries and wants to make Angel Reese or A’ja Wilson a story, the truth is that general sports fans want to see Clark and don’t care about the other players and teams. It’s obvious to everyone, yet Nike — the group that could profit from the obvious demand — is refusing to do so.
