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Congratulations On Yet Another Maga Deal Sealed
Before an exhibition match earlier this month, A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, a women’s basketball club, entered an arena sporting a cropped hoodie bearing the words, “Of course I have a shoe dot com,” beneath a Nike swoosh.
A formal announcement from Nike on the release of A’One, a signature sneaker created in partnership with Wilson and scheduled to enter stores in 2025, can be seen on their website.
The message went on to ask, “You thought we’d sleep on an SEC champion, national champion, #1 draft pick, five-time All-Star, US Olympic gold winner?” along with a long list of other achievements. “Obviously, A’ja has a shoe.”
It transpires that Wilson and Nike had been collaborating on the release of Wilson’s sneaker for well over a year. It was decided by both parties to hold off on speaking until after the design phase. But it appears that Nike took offense at the remarks.
The Nike Basketball account on X, formerly Twitter, even went back and answered weeks-old tweets from people questioning why Wilson didn’t have a signature sneaker, simply replying with the URL “OfCourseSheHasAShoe.com.”
The brand’s defensiveness was telling: the agreement was long overdue, even if it had been in the works for more than a year. Because of the WNBA’s lesser viewership, sportswear corporations have historically under-indexed on female basketball stars because shoe deals were less profitable.
However, in recent months, women’s basketball has ushered in a new age, attaining unprecedented levels of popularity and cultural significance.
The NCAA women’s basketball competition final was the most viewed basketball game (men’s or women’s, collegiate or professional) since 2019.
In April, the WNBA draft attracted the largest audience for a single televised event in the league’s history. Not only is Nike attempting to profit from the increased popularity, but Adidas also revealed last week that it appointed WNBA legend Candace Parker president of women’s basketball, a new role within the company.
Angel Reese, who rose to prominence as a strong college basketball player at Louisiana State University the previous season, was picked by Reebok in October as their trademark athlete and the face of their recently relaunched basketball line.
Above all, it makes sense for brands to associate their brand with players like Parker, Wilson, Reese, and Clark. Basketball expert Michael Sykes, who started The Kicks You Wear newsletter, stated, “These women are entering a league with a spotlight that we’ve never seen before.”
“Brands must strike while the iron is hot, and this time it’s really hot.”
Why are these transactions occurring at this time?
The excitement around collegiate women’s basketball has historically not translated into viewership or business interest. Brands and the media had a reason to avoid the event due to the low viewership, but they can no longer ignore women’s basketball’s rising popularity.
The NCAA women’s basketball competition final in April drew a TV audience of over 24 million viewers, according to ESPN — not only outperforming the men’s equivalent match but also breaking recent viewership records overall.
It also helps that women’s basketball stars at collegiate level could not make money from their name, image or likeness (NIL) until this policy changed in 2021. University of Southern California player Juju Watkins was one of the first athletes to sign an NIL deal with Nike, along with other brands like Estée Lauder.
In fact, Nike and Adidas are hardly early movers on the sponsorship opportunities that have emerged in recent years. They’re now competing with beauty and luxury labels too for a chance to work with the likes of Wilson and Reese. Reese, for instance, is also an ambassador for Mielle Organics and Good American. Prada dressed Clark for WNBA draft night — the first time the brand had ever dressed a basketball player, male or female.
And earlier this week, Skims kicked off its partnership with the WNBA with a campaign featuring veterans such as Parker, Cameron Brink and Kelsey Plum.
“There’s just so much talent right now and so many young stars that I think are going to carry these brands forward well into the future,” said Sykes.
