Caitlin Clark inked a $28 million, eight-yearNike deal , The Wall Street Journal reported.- That's exponentially more than her base salary in the
WNBA .
But the 22-year-old breakout will more than make up forthat amount thanks to a freshly-inked deal with
While Nike already had an
Talks heated up at NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis in February, when Clark's reps at Excel Sports Management told suitors she was seeking a minimum $3 million commitment annually, according to the Journal.
The Journal also reports Clark — who is a marketing major at Iowa — was keenly involved in some of the negotiations.
Clark, who's helped usher in a significant shift in popularity between men's and women's basketball, is the NCAA's biggest-ever scorer and was the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
She wore a $17,000 Prada getup to the event, dripping in more than $10,000 in diamonds — even as her estimated base entry salary of $76,535 raised eyebrows.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert later responded to some of the criticism, telling CNBC that Clark "has the ability to make up to a half of a million dollars just in WNBA wages this year." She also noted Clark's many lucrative endorsement prospects.
Clark has an NIL valuation of a reported $3.1 million. In addition to Nike, she has previously partnered with the likes of Gatorade and State Farm.
Neither Nike nor Excel Sports Management immediately responded to Business Insider's requests for comment.