Nike Super Bowl Decision Brings Bad News to Caitlin Clark Fans
Caitlin Clark fans were given a real treat during Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The morning of that game, news broke that several women's basketball superstars (including Clark, A'ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, and JuJu Watkins) would be featured on Nike's first Super Bowl commercial in 27 years.
When the advertisement came out during halftime of that game (which Clark's Chiefs team lost), it showcased these basketball stars and other top women athletes doing various basketball activities, shooting, hyping up fans, and even crying (in the case of Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles) while a voice-over lists the many things that women athletes are told they can't do.
Meanwhile, the women in the video are shown doing exactly what the voice-over was saying they couldn't.
The ad ended with, "Whatever you do, you can't win. So win."
RELATED: Caitlin Clark Fans Love Women's Sports Centric Super Bowl Commercial
This commercial got a ton of love, and all viewers felt like Nike did a perfect job capturing the growing feeling around women's sports at the time.
Fast forward a year, and the biggest thing regarding Nike when it comes to women's basketball is that they announced that Caitlin Clark's debut signature Nike shoe would release at some point in 2026. There still hasn't been an announcement about when exactly that release will occur, and many of Clark's fans were thinking that a Nike Super Bowl commercial would be the perfect time to break such massive news.
RELATED: Caitlin Clark's Long-Awaited Logo Reveal Gets 6-Word Nike Verdict
Nike Reveals They Aren't Doing a Super Bowl Commercial
However, Clark fans who were holding out hope for a Super Bowl shoe announcement are going to be disappointed, as Nike revealed to ADWEEK last month that they will not be airing an advertisement during Super Bowl LX this year, which is between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks.
Nike didn't comment on why they made this decision. But perhaps it should not have come as a surprise in hindsight, given that the company did not go a Super Bowl commercial for nearly three decades before that point.
Nike confirmed to AdWeek it will not run a commercial during Super Bowl 60 this year, so there won’t be a Nike x Caitlin Clark spot during the game 🏈 pic.twitter.com/tf5gi6eyuo
— claire (@ccstyle22) February 8, 2026
RELATED: Caitlin Clark’s Brother Reignites Payton Pritchard Comparison With 3 Words
Therefore, Clark fans will have to keep waiting for when their star player's first signature shoe drops. It would seem likely that an announcement is coming relatively soon, given that we're already in February of 2026.
Recommended Reading:
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
Follow GrvntYoung