Caitlin Clark's $28million Nike deal is slammed as Sonny Vaccaro - the man who signed Michael Jordan - says WNBA star deserved a similar contract to the NBA legend

Among the critics of Caitlin Clark's $28million Nike deal is former company executive Sonny Vaccaro, the man who once signed Michael Jordan to the apparel giant.

'She should have gotten a piece of everything,' the 84-year-old told TMZ, 'just like Michael Jordan.'

Clark's eight-year deal has been criticized as insufficient for an athlete of her notoriety. The Indiana Fever rookie and former Iowa standout helped deliver record Nielsen ratings in back-to-back NCAA tournaments, not to mention the recent WNBA Draft.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported other shoe deals that were turned down by Clark, including offers from Under Armour ($16m) and Adidas ($6m). Furthermore, the Journal also reports that Clark's people set the floor price at $3m per season.

Jordan's first Nike deal was worth $2.5m in 1984. Nowadays, thanks to his own Nike apparel line, Jordan earns about 5 percent on all of his products with the company, according to Front Office Sports. In 2022 alone, that figure reached $256m.

Caitlin Clark's $28million Nike deal has been criticized by former executive Sonny Vaccaro

'She should have gotten a piece of everything,' the 84-year-old said of Clark's deal

Clark's Nike deal rivals that of the New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu – a reported $24m agreement that included her own signature shoe, according to the Journal.

Both Clark's shoe deal and her meager $76,000 WNBA rookie salary have been widely criticized.

'If people want to complain about Caitlin Clark getting screwed complain about this,' Barstool sports founder Dave Portnoy wrote on social media. 

'8 year 28 million deal is STEALING. 8 years 80 million min is her worth and that's still prob too cheap. I hope she has an early opt out if they don't pay up when she blows through this deal.'

NBA icon Michael Jordan earns about 5 per cent on all of his products with the apparel giant 

A $338,056 sum dispersed over four seasons, Clark's rookie deal was limited by the terms of the WNBA collective-bargaining agreement rookie pay scale – a labor deal that was negotiated in 2020, before her freshman year at Iowa.

Regardless, Clark's rookie salary is less than 1 percent of NBA first-overall pick Victor Wembanyama's $12m take, and that fact has reignited the debate over the gender wage gap in sports.

'Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all,' read a post on Biden's X account. 

'But right now we're seeing that even if you're the best, women are not paid their fair share.