Caitlin Clark's supporters were outraged after A'ja Wilson revealed massive details of her signature Nike shoe deal. On Saturday, Wilson confirmed she had known about this contract for two years but had to keep it from her parents because she had signed an NDA with the company.
However, after Nike announced their multi-year partnership with Clark in 2024, a series of tweets from Wilson and her former teammate Sydney Colson, who is now on the Indiana Fever, sparked outrage against Clark. Many fans believed Clark presumably got a deal with Nike in place before Wilson, citing her "white privilege."
After Nike announced that they had signed Clark to a lucrative multi-year extension and that she would get her own signature shoe, Wilson tweeted this in April 2024:
"Always remember what is delayed is not denied …"
Meanwhile, her old teammate, Sydney Colson, followed up on it a few days later, saying;
"I meeeaaan, I might get a shoe before @_ajawilson22 at this rate"
Wilson replied to that tweet with a series of laughing emojis, saying:
"Sydney!!"
Caitlin Clark's supporters remembered this and the 'harassment' their favorite player had to deal with after A'ja Wilson and Sydney Colson's tweets.
Following Wilson's revelation that she knew this deal for two years and didn't stop the hatred that followed Clark because of her tweets, the Fever star's fans lashed out at her counterpart. One fan wrote:
"lol 2 years and she acted like a victim. also cc got harassed bc of that tweet. @_ajawilson22 go to hell man"
Another added:
"Am I supposed to be happy for her? She pretended to bent about Clark getting hers when all the while she knew... That's dishonest and total BS."
One fan said:
"Nothing is authentic about this woman"
Another added:
"We were all gaslit btw. nasty work. never forget"
One fan tweeted:
One fan said:
"So, it wasn’t delayed or denied after all. You dragged CC through a year of bad publicity just because of your own insecurities . Shameful behavior."
NBA marketing agent once suggested Caitlin Clark's signature shoe delay was related to A'ja Wilson getting upset
Caitlin Clark will complete a year in April since she signed an eight-year extension with Nike, which is reportedly worth $28 million. Clark's deal included a signature shoe.
However, 10 months down the line, there has been no update regarding that. In the meantime, Nike gave Paige Bueckers her player edition sneaker, released in December, while A'ja Wilson got her signature shoe this month. It will be released in May before the 2025 season.
Amid the consistent delay in Clark's signature shoe's release, an NBA agent/marketer, Nate Jones, suggested in September last year that Wilson was probably responsible for it.
"I think a lot of [Clark not yet having Nike product] has to do with managing everything that they're hearing from athletes, participants, fanbase, athletes themselves on the WNBA side," Jones said on "House of Strauss" podcast.
"I got handed lightning in a bottle, and I don't have a shoe for her her rookie year. And I'm likely not gonna have a shoe for her next year. But I've got the MVP of the league, A'ja Wilson, her shoe is coming out. And it feels like a lot of this is around avoiding upsetting that, right? Like, 'Hey, she can't go before A'ja.'
With A'ja Wilson now getting her signature shoe, which comes out soon, Nike might look into working on Caitlin Clark's deal and giving her fans what they eagerly await as she heads into her sophomore season.