Dive Brief:
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Wilson Sporting Goods has signed basketball star Caitlin Clark to a multiyear endorsement deal, per a Tuesday news release. The NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer and first pick in this year’s WNBA draft will be the first female athlete to have a Wilson signature collection and will help Wilson “innovate product across the WNBA, NBA and basketball at large,” per the release.
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As part of the agreement, Clark will test and advise the brand on specific Wilson products. The company plans periodic drops of basketball merchandise celebrating the former Iowa point guard. And it will partner with Clark to create her first-ever signature basketball line due later this year, which will feature different colors and “creative elements specific to her,” per a company spokesperson.
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Clark's deal with Wilson mirrors a similar deal with Michael Jordan in the '80s, with a signature collection of basketballs built over a series, the company said. Three limited-edition basketball designs dropped this week on the brand website, and feature Wilson’s classic white and gold WNBA basketball with laser engravings celebrating Clark’s achievements.
Dive Insight:
Signing the highly popular Clark to an endorsement contract as she begins her WNBA career with the Indiana Fever was a strategic move for Wilson, as Clark reportedly inked a record $28 million, eight-year deal with Nike that will include a signature shoe, per The Wall Street Journal.
"Wilson is made to celebrate the most iconic moments in sport, and we have always aligned ourselves with trailblazers who break boundaries and write their own story," Amanda Lamb, head of global brand at Wilson, said in a statement. "Caitlin Clark is not just a record-setting athlete, but a cultural icon who has had a profound impact on the game."
Wilson will also support the Caitlin Clark Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to help improve the lives of youth and their communities through education, nutrition and sport, per the release.
"Wilson has been with me across some of the most pivotal moments in my career so far, and I couldn't be more excited to continue driving basketball forward alongside them," Clark said in a statement. "It feels surreal to have my own basketball collection, and to affect what that means for future generations of athletes."
A number of active sportswear brands have brought on well-known athletes to help promote the company. Athleta over the years has signed Olympic swimming champion Katie Ledecky and sprinter Allyson Felix; On signed tennis stars Iga Świątek and Ben Shelton last year, and Express inked a deal with student quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer in December as its youngest collegiate style ambassador.
Historically a manufacturer of sporting goods equipment, Wilson in 2021 began a DTC push by opening its first brick-and-mortar store in Chicago. Today the company operates 10 stores in New York, California, Texas, Minnesota, New Jersey and Illinois, per the brand’s website.
Wilson experienced a rocky start financially to the first quarter of 2024. According to an earnings report from parent company Amer Sports Group, ball and racquet sports revenue fell 14% to $273 million, “as Wilson continues to be constrained by challenges in its core market compared to strong growth and profitability last year when the flow of inventory improved and both retailers and consumers were buying early to avoid stockouts.”
