Earlier this month, A'ja Wilson of the WNBA team Las Vegas Aces wore a cropped hoodie with the message “Of Course I Own Shoes.com” under the Nike Swoosh at an exhibition shoot. I entered the arena before the game.
On the website, there is an official announcement from Nike about the release of the signature sneaker “A'One” designed in collaboration with Wilson, and is expected to be released in 2025.
“Did you think we could sleep with an SEC champion, a national champion, a No. 1 draft pick, a five-time All-Star, and a U.S. Olympic gold medalist?” ing. “Of course Aja has shoes.”
It was a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgment of a question basketball fans have been asking for years. Why didn't Nike give Wilson, one of the highest-profile WNBA players and widely considered the league's standout talent, a sneaker contract?
It turns out that Nike and Wilson had been working together on the release of her sneakers for more than a year. Both parties agreed on the decision to remain silent until the end of the design phase. But Nike appears to have taken the criticism personally.On X, formerly her Twitter, her Nike basketball account Reply to a tweet from a few weeks ago Users who wondered about the lack of Wilson's signature sneakers responded with the following URL: “OfCourseSheHasAShoe.com.”
Brand's defensive ability spoke volumes. Despite the fact that it took him more than a year to conclude the contract, it was nevertheless long overdue. Sportswear companies have traditionally undervalued female basketball stars, as the WNBA's declining ratings have made sneaker deals commercially unviable.
But women's basketball has entered a new era in recent months, reaching new heights in viewership and cultural status. April's WNBA Draft was the most-watched single broadcast event in league history, and the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Finals was the most-watched game for men's, women's, college and pro teams since 2019. It became a basketball game.
Nike isn't the only company looking to capitalize on its newfound appeal. Last week, adidas announced the creation of a new leadership position in WNBA legend Candace Parker, who was named president of women's basketball. In October, Reebok named Angel Reese, who rose to prominence last season as a college basketball standout at Louisiana State University, to be the leading player and face of the brand's newly relaunched basketball division under Shaquille O'Neal. .
For brands, associating their image with stars of the game like Clark, Wilson, Reese, and Parker is smart business more than anything else.
“These women are coming into the league in a spotlight that we've never seen before,” said Michael Sykes, sneaker industry and basketball expert and founder of the Kicks You Wear newsletter. said. “Brands have to strike while the iron is hot, and the iron is extremely hot right now.”
Why are deals like this suddenly happening now?
Traditionally, the hype around women's basketball at the collegiate level has failed to translate into viewership or commercial interest. The lack of attention has given brands and media an excuse to distance themselves, but the sudden rise in the popularity of women's basketball can no longer be ignored.
According to ESPN, the NCAA women's basketball championship game in April drew more than 24 million television viewers, surpassing its men's counterpart as well as breaking recent overall viewership records. Did.
It also helps that, until this policy changed in 2021, college-level women's basketball stars couldn't make money from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). JuJu Watkins, a player at the University of Southern California, was one of the first athletes to sign a contract with the NIL. Other brands such as Nike and Estée Lauder as well.
In fact, Nike and Adidas were not the first to tap into the sponsorship opportunities that have emerged in recent years. They are now also competing with beauty and luxury brands for opportunities to work with the likes of Wilson and Reese. For example, Reese is also an ambassador for Mielle Organics and Good American. Prada dressed Clark for WNBA draft night, marking the first time the brand has dressed a male or female basketball player.
And earlier this week, the Skims began a partnership with the WNBA with a campaign featuring veterans like Parker, Cameron Brink and Kelsey Plumb.
“There's so much talent right now, so many young stars, that I think will carry these brands into the future,” Sykes said.
Why are signing deals so important, especially in women's basketball?
A signing contract is one of the biggest investments a brand can make in a star athlete. Aside from giving athletes equity, this is the highest level of endorsement a brand offers, and athletes are no longer just getting paid to wear branded gear, but sneakers with their name on them. You will be able to co-create your own brand or apparel line (or even your own brand). logo) next to your brand. This is the blueprint set forth by the groundbreaking signature sneaker deal that Michael Jordan signed with Nike in 1984, after which Nike sold his $6 billion Air Jordans to his brand. I have grown.
However, female athletes are significantly underrepresented when it comes to these contracts. Breanna Stewart (Stewie 1, Puma), Elena Delle Don (Air Del Don 1, Nike), and Sabrina Ionescu are the only current WNBA players on the market to wear her signature sneakers. is. Sabrina 2 Her sneakers are expected to be released in the next few days. . On the other hand, the NBA has over 30 representative players. Before Delle Donne, the last WNBA player to release a signature shoe was Candice Parker in 2012.
In women's sports, these deals play an important role in compensation. Even for top female athletes, the base salary is incomparable to that of male athletes. For example, Clark's eight-year, $28 million contract with Nike dwarfs her modest WNBA salary of $76,535.
Signing deals are also an important negotiating tool for brands as they compete to sign the next generation of basketball stars. Giving Caitlin Clark her own signature shoe contract also helped the Swoosh seal the deal in April after a fierce bidding war involving Adidas, Puma and Under Armor. It also helped Shaquille O'Neal sign Angel Reese to Reebok.
“I want people to wear my shoes,” Reese told fans on TikTok in May. “I like the way they let me be the creator behind everything I want to do.”
What happens to brands by continuing to enter into these agreements?
The growing mainstream popularity of women's basketball provides marketing opportunities that are more targeted toward female consumers, said Eric Wise, global GM of adidas Basketball.
A key role for Candice Parker, the brand's newly created head of women's basketball, will be overseeing the development of more footwear options designed specifically for female athletes.
Wise said Parker plans to build the brand's women's basketball category around rising stars on the roster, including Canadian forward Aliyah Edwards and 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg of what's to come in the Adidas basketball category,” he says.