Insider predicts Caitlin Clark Nike signature shoe could be ‘a $100 million business

Just days after she went No. 1 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Caitlin Clark landed a lucrative partnership with Nike. She will also receive a signature shoe as part of the deal, and sneaker insider Nick DePaula has high expectations.

Clark’s deal with Nike is an eight-year agreement worth $28 million. She recently debuted a player edition shoe – a Kobe V Protro featuring Indiana Fever colors – but her signature sneaker likely won’t launch until next year. However, DePaula said there was an argument to rush it ahead of the WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis.

Given the success of other WNBA stars’ Nike lines – such as Sabrina Ionescu and A’ja Wilson – DePaula thinks Clark’s sneaker could be one of the company’s best. In fact, he predicted it could be “a $100 million business.”

“Signature shoes, I would say in the W, there was obviously a 10-year window where there weren’t any players with a signature,” DePaula said on FOS Today. “We’ve now seen Sabrina’s line take off. Her line, there were 54 NBA players that wore it last season. It’s become one of the biggest businesses in signature shoes. A’ja Wilson now has had a successful launch, as well.

“I think when Caitlin’s shoe comes out, I think it can be a $100 million business. I think it could become a top-five signature franchise not just in the W, but across basketball. That would be one of the reasons I would’ve maybe rushed it. But of course, you want to get it right.”

Clark’s partnership with Nike began during her college career at Iowa through an NIL deal, and the company’s investment continues into the early part of her WNBA career. She joined Ionescu, Wilson and other notable female athletes in a Super Bowl LIX commercial this past February, and her previous Kobe PE sneaker paid homage to her dog, Bella.

But anticipation continues to grow for Caitlin Clark’s signature shoe. The expectation is that will finally come down in 2026, according to DePaula. He said Nike opted not to rush it to make sure it “gets it right.”

“There’s just testing processes and marketing campaigns – the boring behind-the-scenes part that takes sometimes that long,” DePaula said. “So I think they want to get it right and want to get to next spring. I’m expecting it to be pretty successful out of the gate.”