Caitlin Clark's $28M, Tiger's $100M, Heat Nation and FIFA's $1B TV Rights Deal
Business and culture news from the world of Sport.
Caitlin Clark’s $28 Million Nike Deal
Caitlin Clark is set to sign her first major endorsement deal as a professional, with reports indicating that she is close to inking a substantial contract with Nike. According to The Wall Street Journal and The Athletic, the deal is expected to be valued at $28 million over the next eight years.
Clark's agreement with Nike could include a signature shoe line, as reported by The Athletic, with the possibility of additional bonuses for the Indiana Fever player. In deals like this there will be bonuses based on the number of league games played and wins, making playoffs, winning championships, points scored, statistical milestones, etc.
Nike's partnership with Clark began in 2022 when she was still playing college basketball at the University of Iowa, thanks to the NCAA's "Name, Image, and Likeness" (NIL) policy.
In her initial statement about her collaboration with Nike, Clark expressed her admiration for the brand's athletes, noting their influence on her journey.
"I grew up watching Nike athletes across all sports play their game," she remarked, according to Fox Sports. "They have inspired me to work hard and make a difference. I’m humbled to be part of this first Nike basketball class and passionate about inspiring the next."
Clark's Nike deal is the latest in a portfolio of partnerships with high-profile brands like Gatorade, State Farm, Buick, and Bose.
Three other WNBA players currently have shoe deals: Breanna Stewart with Puma, and Elena Delle Donne and Sabrina Ionescu with Nike. Ionescu's initial contract with Nike in 2020 was reportedly worth $24 million. With Clark joining this elite group, her impact on and off the court is poised to grow even further.
But Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is unimpressed with the deal. He said
'If people want to complain about Caitlin Clark getting screwed complain about this,' Portnoy wrote. '8 year 28 million deal is STEALING. 8 years 80 million min is her worth and that's still prob too cheap.
'I hope she has an early opt-out if they don't pay up when she blows through this deal.'
'Men would 100% buy her sneakers. All girls who play hoop will. Devin Booker got 5 years 50 million. Caitlin is 100x the Star and impact.'
I agree with Dave that this is a great deal for Nike considering the impact she is having on the game and the attention she has brought.
Clark also received offers of $16 million over four years from Under Armour and $6 million over four years from Adidas, with both including a signature shoe, according to the WSJ.
My biggest concern isn’t the amount of money but the length of the contract. If she feels more comfortable with Nike and what they’ve offered then by all means take a little less money, but 8 years is a long time in sports and if she had signed a 4-year deal, continued to set the world of basketball on fire and sold a ton of merch for Nike, she would have the power to renegotiate a bigger deal in 4 years.
I’ve not seen the contract and maybe there are some things in there that make it make sense but 8 years on any deal is risky. Scottie Pippen’s famous Bulls contract is evidence of this length of contract not working out well.
Tiger’s $100 Million Reward from the PGA
Tiger Woods and others like Rory McIlroy are set to receive equity stakes in PGA Tour Enterprises as a reward for their loyalty to the PGA Tour, rather than joining the rival LIV Golf circuit.
Woods is expected to receive a $100 million stake while McIlroy's share will be valued at $50 million according to The Telegraph, $930 million of equity will be shared among 193 golfers, with $750million reserved for 36 of the world's best, based on a performance-based formula, and $75million given to retired legends.
The equity program is intended to reward top-performing players and legends who have made significant contributions to the PGA Tour's growth. To receive these grants, players must participate in at least 15 PGA Tour events or meet other service requirements in line with the value of their grants.
For more details on how this funding will be distributed check out the post on Baller Golf.
Could Heat Nation be getting Hot Again?
In 2023, the Miami Heat were seeded 8th in the NBA playoffs, however, with playoff Jimmy (Jimmy Butler), the Heat are a different animal in the playoffs and made it to the Eastern Conference finals, putting up a great display but fell short in the series against a strong Boston Celtics.
Fast forward to 2024, and last night, the 8th-seeded Miami Heat unexpectedly took a game from number 1-seeded Boston in their own house, bringing the series to 1-1 and now heading back to Miami. They did this with a good performance and didn’t even need the currently injured Jimmy Butler.
Jimmy, a guy who loves to troll his opponents posted the following on Instagram. I’m sure this will fire up Jaylen Brown.
He’s said to be out for a few weeks while he recovers so the Heat’s odds of making it past Boston aren’t great but one thing we know in recent years is that Miami do put up a fight this time of the year. I’d love to see Jimmy come back and put on a show against Boston.
FIFA & Apple closing in on worldwide TV rights deal for new Club World Cup
FIFA is reportedly nearing an agreement with Apple to secure global television rights for a new, high-profile soccer tournament. The monthlong competition, set to debut in the U.S. next summer, will feature top-tier teams and is designed to mimic the World Cup format. According to sources referenced in a recent article by Tariq Panja of The New York Times, the deal could be announced this month.
The anticipated value of the deal with Apple is speculated to be around $1 billion. The details surrounding broadcasting rights are still uncertain, and it's unclear whether there will be any free-to-air access, leading to concerns within FIFA's senior management.
If this agreement with Apple goes through, it would be a groundbreaking move, marking the first time FIFA has signed a single worldwide contract for a major tournament.
It’s an interesting development and something I would likely watch, however, it does come with issues.
There is already a club World Cup. The CWC is a short competition between the winners of regional tournaments such as the European Champions League, the CONCACAF Champions Cup (North America, Central America, and Caribbean), and others from Asia, Africa, South America, and Oceanic regions.
The issue with the Club World Cup is not enough people care about it. I’m a soccer fan having been born and bred in England and have little interest in who wins the Club World Cup. Even players, although they’ll enjoy the bragging rights if they win, none of them grew up dreaming of winning it or even playing in it.
Where does it fit into the soccer schedule? There is constant discussion about the season being too busy already. Take England for example, a top club will be playing league games every week from August to May. In addition, they’ll be playing across Europe in the Champions League and two domestic cup competitions with the FA Cup and the League Cup (easily 2 and sometimes 3 games per week).
Top players from these clubs also play for their country bringing another list of games to the annual calendar.
Managers and coaches are already frustrated with the lack of rest time for their players so I’m not sure how enthusiastic they’ll be about an extra month-long tournament when their players should be resting.
I also suspect that clubs will be reluctant to field full-strength teams to rest their most valuable investments which will devalue the competition and limit some of the potential viewership.
FIFA has already faced criticism from players’ unions for not consulting them before making announcements about the event. Sponsors have also been slow to commit to the $150 million sponsorship packages FIFA is seeking, reflecting broader concerns about the tournament's commercial viability.
We’ll have to see how it pans out but as a fan, I just don’t know that I need another competition.
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading, David Skilling.
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I don't often agree with Dave Portnoy, but in this case, I do.