Caitlin Clark just did something no athlete has done since Michael Jordan
By Jordan Valinsky, CNN
New York (CNN) — Breakout basketball star Caitlin Clark has a new achievement that hasn’t been accomplished since Michael Jordan.
The WNBA player signed a multiyear deal with Wilson Sporting Goods Co., the league’s official basketball supplier, for “signature basketball collections celebrating Clark’s continued legacy,” the company announced Tuesday.
Wilson said that Clark will “test, advise and provide feedback on a range” of its basketball products, become a brand ambassador and release new collections that celebrate her throughout the rest of 2024. In addition, she will “creatively direct her first-ever signature basketball line” that will roll out later this year.
Financial terms of the deal were not released.
She’s the first-ever female athlete to have her own collection with Wilson, a company spokesperson told CNN, with the series being built similar to Jordan’s collection in the 1980s, which included signature basketballs and apparel.
“Wilson has been with me across some of the most pivotal moments in my career so far, and I couldn’t be more excited to continue driving basketball forward alongside them,” Clark said in a press release. “It feels surreal to have my own basketball collection, and to affect what that means for future generations of athletes.”
The first collection released Tuesday on Wilson’s website, with a limited collection of gold-colored basketballs featuring a drawing of Clark along with her signature.
Wilson, which has produced the basketballs for the NBA for several decades, became the official game ball of the WNBA in 2020. The company also sells basketballs with WNBA team logos on them.
Clark, the no. 1 draft pick, joined the Indiana Fever earlier this month and has been a boon for the league since: Her debut drew an average of 2.1 million viewers on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+, making it the most watched WNBA game in more than two decades.
Nike is also reportedly on the verge of signing Clark to design her shoe line, but no official deal has been formally announced. She also has sponsorship deals with State Farm, Gatorade, Panini and others, valued at around $3 million.
The-CNN-Wire
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