Aiexpress – Caitlin Clark, the University of Iowa athlete who recently achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball, continues to make history.
According to Fanatics, Clark’s jerseys and shirts with her name on them have been selling like hotcakes, making her the best-selling college athlete on the online retailer’s platform since they started selling collegiate athletic apparel in 2022.
In a landmark decision by the Supreme Court in 2021, student athletes were granted the right to profit from their personal brand, including their name, image, and likeness (NIL). This ruling opened up new opportunities for athletes like Clark to monetize their likeness. As a result, stores and businesses quickly seized the opportunity to capitalize on this newfound revenue stream.
According to Fanatics, they have sold more Clark-branded merchandise in less than 24 hours after she broke the record last Friday night than any other individual men’s or women’s NIL-era college athlete across all sports has sold since 2022.
Shedeur Sanders, the son of coach and NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, was surpassed by her to secure the top spot on Fanatics’ website.
Fans on the site have a strong affinity for a Nike T-shirt featuring the phrase “You break it, you own it,” along with Clark’s last name and jersey number 22.
Fans are showing their love for Clark in various ways. One popular item is the Topps trading cards that celebrate her record-breaking achievement. These cards sold out in less than 10 minutes, demonstrating the high demand for Clark’s memorabilia. Additionally, her regular Topps Now card is ranked among the top 10 best-selling Topps Now cards of all time, across all sports. This just goes to show how much fans appreciate Clark’s talent and success.
Iowa has emerged as an economic powerhouse, showcasing the tremendous earning potential of athletes in the collegiate sports industry. This highlights the new era of profitability that has dawned upon college sports.
At just 22 years old, Clark has secured lucrative deals with major brands including Gatorade, Nike, and State Farm. According to sports data site On3, the total value of these partnerships is estimated at $818,000. This impressive figure ranks Clark fifth among all female college athletes in terms of endorsement earnings. In fact, her endorsement deals far surpass what she can expect to earn as a professional player in the WNBA, where the top salary currently caps at around $250,000.
Brands are eager to collaborate with college athletes who can assist them in targeting younger consumers, particularly young women who are more likely to develop devoted social media followers. The rising prominence of elite athletes like Clark is drawing more recognition and generating additional revenue for women’s college sports programs and professional leagues.
According to Patrick Rishe, the director of the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis, “Corporate America obviously wants to target younger people, and part of that is the lifetime customer value.” Rishe also mentioned that Clark has a following of “Clarkies.”
