Insiders speculate that A’ja Wilson could be the reason for the delay in Caitlin Clark’s Nike shoe

Nike made a big splash earlier this year when the company won the bidding war for rookie sensation Caitlin Clark, signing her to an eight-year, $28 million endorsement deal that included a signature shoe.

Many people expected Nike to rush to produce Clark’s signature shoe and release it as soon as possible. However, not only is the Clark shoe not available yet, but it seems Nike is still in the very early stages (if at all) of releasing this signature shoe.

In a podcast episode of House of Strauss on Saturday, NBA agent/marketer Nate Jones speculated that the reason for Clark’s Nike shoe hiatus was at least partially related to A’ja Wilson.

“I think Clark’s lack of Nike products so far has a lot to do with dealing with everything they’re hearing from athletes, participants, the fan base and the athletes themselves on the WNBA side,” Jones said.

“I got lightning in a bottle and I don’t have a shoe for her in her rookie year. And next year I probably won’t have a shoe for her either. But I have the MVP of the league, A’ja Wilson, and her shoe is coming out. And it feels like a lot of it is about not disrupting that, right? Like, ‘Hey, she can’t go before A’ja.’

“Who the hell says she can’t go before A’ja?” Jones added. “This is business. This isn’t charity… No matter what you think of A’ja Wilson, it’s obvious that the business opportunity with Caitlin Clark is much more significant and less risky. But for some reason it’s been put on the back burner.”

Jones then said, “If you’re having trouble reclaiming shelf space and getting people into stores… Caitlin Clark is a cultural phenomenon that makes people do things like wear her shoes everywhere and say, ‘I support her.’ Why wouldn’t you just take that slam dunk? Why wouldn’t you do that?”

The real reason for the delay in Clarks’ shoe is unknown, but what is certain is that with each day that the shoe is not available to the public, a lot of money is being wasted.