Sheryl Swoopes Makes Her Opinion of Caitlin Clark's Nike Contract Extremely Clear
Las Vegas Aces superstar and 2024 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson had a release party for her new Nike signature shoe during the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend. At one point during the celebration, WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes — who remains a Nike ambassador after becoming the first woman to have a signature athletic shoe with her Nike deal back in 1995 — sent a blunt message about Wilson reaching this milestone.
"It's about f****** time," Swoopes said of Wilson receiving a Nike signature shoe. She later added, "I feel so lucky to be a part of the Nike basketball family for more than 30 years now. And I love to see how the brand continues to champion women's basketball and the athletes who play it."
While that celebration was specific to Wilson, Swoopes spoke about the deals that other Nike women's basketball athletes — including Indiana Fever icon Caitlin Clark — have received during her February 26 appearance on In Case You Missed It With Khristina Williams.
“What really excites me today about where we are is it’s not just the things that the women are getting on the court. You have all these women and brands who are saying, ‘We see you, we hear you, we need you’," Swoopes said.
“So you have the Angel Reese's, the Caitlin Clark's, the DiJonai Carrington's, the Rickea Jackson's, the A’jas doing things that we only could dream of. And my very first Nike contract when I signed in ['95] was like $175,000. Which then I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’ve made it', right?" she added.
"And today to see a player like an A’ja and a Caitlin Clark signing a $20 million contract. Like, I don’t even know what to say about that, because I never thought that I would see this day when we started the W back in ’97, where we’re sitting here actually talking about... these million-dollar contracts that female basketball players are now signing.”
This week, @Khristina is joined by Levels to This hosts @airswoopes22 and @SheKnowsSports. The trio dives into the challenges of balancing public perception with personal authenticity and the double standards women face in sports and media.
— In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams (@ICYMIwithKW) February 27, 2025
Link: https://t.co/JIsx7VlEpI pic.twitter.com/PfKXIWa1vT
Given some of Swoopes' past sentiments about Clark, it's cool to hear her happy when discussing the Nike deals that she and Wilson have received.
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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.
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