They didn’t want to foot the bill.
Dave Portnoy believes Nike is grossly underpaying Caitlin Clark after the basketball star signed a $28 million, eight-year contract with the athletic footwear and apparel brand.
“If people want to complain about Caitlin Clark getting screwed complain about this. 8 year 28 million deal is STEALING,” Portnoy wrote on X on Tuesday.
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“8 years 80 million min is her worth and that’s still prob too cheap,” he continued. “Hope she has an early opt out if they don’t pay up when she blows through this deal.”
The Barstool Sports founder, 47, also clapped back at an internet troll claiming that Clark wouldn’t be able to sell a signature shoe.
“How many people are going to buy her shoes? Honestly. What is the market for WNBA player’s signature shoes? I bet this is an overpay when it’s all said and done,” someone surmised.
Portnoy replied by claiming that men would “100% buy her sneakers.”
“All girls who play hoop will,” he said, adding, “Devin Booker got 5 years 50 million. Caitlin is 100x the Star and impact.”
On Tuesday, sources told the Wall Street Journal that the WNBA player penned the sponsorship deal with the sports gear company — marking the largest sponsorship contract for a female basketball player.
She was also reportedly in talks with Under Armour, Adidas and Puma before landing the historic deal.
The former Iowa Hawkeyes star’s original name, image and likeness deal she signed in 2022 had officially expired at the end of her 2023-24 college basketball season.
Clark ended her record-breaking season as the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer and is regarded as one of the greatest collegiate players of all time.
She also helped break ESPN viewership records during her highly publicized March Madness Elite Eight game against the LSU Tigers last month.
The matchup peaked at 16 million viewers and was the most-watched college basketball game in ESPN history.
Clark then shattered that record with 24 million viewers when she played the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2024 NCAA national championship game.
The athlete, dressed in head-to-toe Prada, was named the 2024 No.1 draft pick and selected by the WNBA’s Indiana Fever last week.
Fans were outraged to learn that Clark signed a $338,000 four-year contract with the team, meaning she would only be paid $76,535 in her first year.
Despite the backlash, Clark celebrated the next step in her already stellar basketball career by clubbing in New York City with her boyfriend Connor McCaffery.
