Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro believes that Caitlin Clark missed out on a lucrative deal by not demanding the same treatment as Michael Jordan. Vaccaro, who was responsible for signing Jordan to a groundbreaking contract in the 1970s during his time at Nike, feels that Clarkâs team missed an opportunity by not negotiating for a share of everything, similar to what Jordan had.
After his time at Nike, Vaccaro went on to work with Adidas and Reebok to grow their brands. He has been a vocal advocate for athlete rights and has spoken out on issues such as amateurism and NCAA policies regarding compensation for student-athletes.
Clark recently signed a contract worth an impressive $28,000,000 over eight years with Nike. This deal works out to $3.5 million per year and includes the creation of her own signature shoe, making it one of the biggest sports deals in the history of female sports. However, unlike Jordan, Clark does not have a royalty agreement with the shoes and will instead receive a fixed amount each year for the duration of the contract.
Vaccaro believes that Clark should have held out for a more comprehensive agreement that maximized her earnings potential. He also thinks that she is missing an opportunity by not demanding better terms from her contract with Nike. With her dominance in Indiana Fever practice and striking fear in the WNBA, she could have easily demanded more from her deal with Nike if she had been more assertive about her rights as an athlete
