When Nike signed Indiana Fever superstar guard Caitlin Clark to an eight-figure endorsement deal just a couple of days after she was drafted as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft last April, imaginations ran wild about what Nike and Clark could (and presumably would) accomplish together.
Last forward about 14 months, and this brand deal has left a lot to be desired. While the sports apparel juggernaut has done a fine job putting up billboards of Clark across the country and featuring her in a Super Bowl commercial, she has only received a PE ("Player Exclusive") shoe, doesn't have any individual merchandise, and doesn't seem all that close to receiving her own signature sneaker line.
Nike's sluggishness in capitalizing on Clark's superstardom has frustrated many. And in a recent TikTok post, Jordan Rogers (who served as a Brand Marketing Director for Nike Basketball for over a decade) called Nike out for their mishandling of No. 22.
After noting how Nike's stock price is down nearly 60% since 2021, Rogers said, "You have the single biggest needle mover in all of American sports since Michael Jordan, and you have somehow convinced yourself that you need to slow-play this?"
"This seems like you have convinced yourself that this needs to be an either/or conversation. And we never have an either/or conversation in the men's sports, you have like 10 signature athletes [in the NBA], half of them don't deserve a signature shoe," Rogers continued.
"This is so confusing to me. I am so perplexed," Rogers added. "I am so confused as to why you wouldn't be doing bigger campaigns with [Clark]... One of the best explanations I can come up with is that you are wringing your hands and afraid to enter into this politically divisive conversation that has been co-opted by the media and pundits."
He concluded with, "You have the unicorn, the chosen one, the one who everyone wants to hear from, and you are just sitting around... Please, for the love of God, figure something out."
Rogers is speaking for the masses with this sentiment.
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