Caitlin Clark made 'one of biggest fumbles ever' with contract as Michael Jordan opportunity wasted
Caitlin Clark's representatives were accused of being responsible for "one of the biggest fumbles" and not making the most of her global appeal amid debate over the pay gap between the men's and women's games.
The Indiana Fever and USA star is considered to be the most popular female basketball player around, playing an integral role in the growth of the women's game.
The two-time WNBA All-Star enjoyed an incredible rookie season after being the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, finishing as the overall assists leader while helping the team get to the play-offs for the first time in eight years.
But while 6ft Clark is a marketing machine, some are of the view that she has not been promoted or paid at the correct level - along with many other women's players.
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The NCAA Division I's record point scorer is said to earn $3.5m per year with Nike, whom she signed with for eight years.
While that amount totals $28 million, Sonny Vaccaro, a former Nike executive who signed basketball's biggest ever star Michael Jordan in 1984, believes her representatives did not secure an arrangement which reflects her value.
"She should have gotten a piece of everything, just like Michael Jordan," he told TMZ in April last year.
"I'm saying to you, they messed up. They should have held on to the last drop."
Jordan's first deal, which came after interest from Adidas and Converse, was a five-year, $2.5 million deal and saw him smash four key clauses inserted.
The six-time NBA champion still makes a fortune from Nike today, taking five per cent on all sales of his products.
Clark, like Jordan, will have a signature shoe released as part of the terms - with the sneaker set to come out in 2025.
But other female stars Paige Bueckers and A'ja Wilson got their shoes first and YouTuber Mick Talks Hoop went as far as saying that the agent involved in the deal "should have been fired on the spot" following "the biggest blunder".
"Caitlin Clark and Nike is one of the greatest fumbles in sports marketing history," he stated.
"I think we can say it is right now, that it is without question one of the biggest fumbles in history.
"We have got a player who is the most popular basketball player in the world right now, outside of Stephen Curry. And her agent somehow convinced her to sign an eight-year deal. "It is the biggest blunder in the history of marketing. The agent that brokered this deal should never, should have been fired on the spot, should already have been fired at this stage.
"Because a fair deal for Caitlin Clark is 20 million a year."
Clark's Fever contract for the 2025 season is said to be $78,000, a far cry from Steph Curry's $60 million-a-year pay packet.
And with Angel Reese revealing she struggles to pay her bills from her salary, WNBA stars including Clark staged a protest over pay at the WNBA All-Star Game, sporting black t-shirts with white text reading: "Pay us what you owe us" during the warm-up.
The Players and the union are in negotiations over pay for WNBA players, who are entitled to 25 per cent of profits through the WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement but are paid just a fraction of what the men earn.
Topics: Michael Jordan, NBA, Basketball
Josh Lawless