Nike Retail Jersey Launch Features Four College Basketball Stars
For the first time, Nike will sell college basketball jerseys for active players with names on the back in an partnership with four current players and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
And, while USC guard Bronny James is the attention-grabbing name for the causal basketball fan, perhaps the bigger news is that other three active players involved in the deal are women.
Along with James, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, UConn’s Paige Bueckers and USC’s Juju Watkins — like James, a freshman — are also part of the deal.
The partnership means that fans can buy the jersey for the four players at $90 through the website at Dick’s Sporting Goods or at up to 800 retail locations nationwide.
But, the fact that all four players can have their names on the back of the jersey — something the NCAA barred before chances in Name, Image and Likeness rules — allows those players to pull some revenue from those sales.
All are partnered with Nike. Clark, for instance, partnered with Nike in 2022.
James has the most noticeable name, as he is the son of NBA star Lebron James. But he has yet to play a college game after suffering a cardiac arrest this summer, which led to the discovery of a congenital heart defect. He is being evaluated by doctors at the end of November and could begin practicing in December.
Clark was the 2023 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Player of the Year as he led Iowa to the national championship game before losing to LSU. She returns for another season for the Hawkeyes, where there is potential for her to set NCAA career scoring records by season’s end.
Bueckers did not play last year due to a torn ACL but remains one of the women’s games most marketable players, thanks to her freshman season in which she was named both Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year by the USBWA.
Watkins just played her first college game on Monday but made an impression. She scored 32 points and had five assists in her debut against Ohio State in Las Vegas.
