Nike Has Refused the Caitlin Clark Windfall

Back when Nike’s stock was around its all time high, I wrote a 5,000 word essay on the corporation’s awkwardly angry play for female customers. At the time I wrote it, back in 2021, I couldn’t foresee that the megacorp would sign history’s biggest women’s college basketball phenom in 2022. How fortuitous. I also couldn’t foresee that this player would maintain that fame momentum through her entrance into the WNBA, where she’d finish All 1st Team as a rookie. And who could have predicted her games would average over a million viewers, contrasted against the games of other players that would register in the 300K range. Road arenas packed wherever she goes. Crowds of girls wearing her jersey in all these stadiums. Oh, and also? Nike’s re-signed her through 8 years at a cheap rate.

You tell me all that and I assume Nike’s doing fantastic in 2024 because it sounds like you’re describing a billion dollar athlete who suddenly appeals to previously unreached demos. The apparel behemoth has majority male customers and has long craved similar success with women. Fortunately, they signed the woman to build a brand around. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Caitlin Clark. Instead, in the early Clark Era, Nike’s stock has tanked over this span and the CEO just got ousted. By the way, though Clark got famous around 2022, if you want to buy her shoe, you could be waiting until 2026-27.

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