WNBA fans bemused by Caitlin Clark's signature Nike shoe's 2026 release date: "Go woke, go broke" 

WNBA fans couldn't understand Nike's decision to push Caitlin Clark's signature shoe's release to 2026. The reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year joined the company ahead of the 2024 season, getting a signature shoe in the process.

Fans were excited after learning about this news, but recent developments haven't sat well with them. On Friday, X (formerly Twitter) user Ken Swift shared a excerpt of Nike's CEO Elliott Hill's words during the company's Q2 earnings call.

"Insane. Reading through the call it seems like Nike is saddled with inventory that’s not moving and is going to take margin cuts and a lot of time to get through, as well as too promotional. It’s crazy that they are waiting until 2026 to release Caitlin shoe. The fact it takes 3 years to put it out makes zero sense to me," Swift tweeted.

These words rubbed a lot of people off, with some accusing Nike of being "woke" while criticizing them for dropping the ball with Caitlin Clark, a very popular athlete.

"Beautiful, go woke go broke, I avoid Nike like the plague😂," one fan wrote.

"What makes no sense to me is that they didn’t at least release a collection of shirts or hoodies, like they did with Paige, Aja, and Sab, which turned out really well," another fan said.

"Total incompetent negotiating by CC' s agent. Should have a shoe now. 2024 shoe should have been demanded in contract or do Under Armour. Nike just stopped CC from going elsewhere," another fan wrote.

Others tried to shed light on the situation but also said that any merch from Clark will do numbers for the company while the signature sneakers are manufactured.

"It takes a long time to develop a signature shoe from scratch. They need to release her other merch though," one fan said.

Caitlin Clark's products sold out during WNBA season

Caitlin Clark's impact on the WNBA and business was more visible in July when two of her products sold out in a short period. First, the collaboration with Wilson sold out in only 11 hours. A series of basketball that cost between $24.95 and $99.95 were out of stock the same day they were put on sale.

A couple of weeks later, a collection of All-Star Weekend mini-basketballs featuring not only Clark but Angel Reese, A'ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu and Kahleah Copper sold out in hours too.

If there's a player who doesn't need to be heavily promoted to sell products, that's Clark.