Caitlin Clark has taken the basketball world by storm. The former Iowa Hawkeye smashed record after record during her collegiate career and will play in her first WNBA game with the Indiana Fever in a month. The Fever's new superstar just inked a massive deal with Nike.

Caitlin Clark's Nike deal includes a signature shoe and is expected to be in the eight-figure range. It is reported that the deal could surpass $20 million.

Clark was selected first overall by the Indiana Fever at Monday's WNBA Draft. She already has endorsement deals with a number of companies, including Gatorade, State Farm, and Panini. Clark also appeared in an all-Prada outfit at the WNBA Draft. The money Clark will make from her Nike contract, however, should dwarf all of these other endorsements and deals.

Finances have been a widely discussed topic surrounding Caitlin Clark, the WNBA, and women's sports in general as of late. After Clark was drafted by the Fever, fans were outraged to discover how little money Clark is set to earn on her first overall rookie contract. For comparison, Clark's $338,056 four-year rookie contract is less than one percent of what a first overall pick in the NBA makes on just the first year of their rookie contract.

Caitlin Clark became an incredibly popular figure around women's basketball during her collegiate career with the Iowa Hawkeyes. During her time at Iowa, Clark smashed several long-standing NCAA records. Most notably, she passed Pete Maravich to become the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer.

Caitlin Clark bringing new level of excitement to the Indiana Fever, WNBA

Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark, former Iowa Hawkeye standout and the no. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, speaks Wednesday, April 17, 2024, during an introductory press conference inside the entry pavilion at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
© Indianapolis Star-USA TODAY NETW

Caitlin Clark's arrival has been a boon to the WNBA.

WNBA ticket sales and interest in the league has soared since she arrived with the team.

Monday's WNBA Draft was viewed by 2.45 million viewers, which smashed all previous viewership records for the event. Clark has buoyed viewership numbers many times before. Most notably, the NCAA women's national championship between Iowa and South Carolina garnered 18.9 million viewers, which eclipsed the men's national championship between UConn and Purdue (14.8 million).

Caitlin Clark isn't the only one who is helping make an impact for the WNBA. She is the headliner of a stacked draft class that features other future WNBA stars including Angel Reese, Camilla Cardoso, Cameron Brink, and Aaliyah Edwards.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert intends to ride this wave of momentum to increase the size of the WNBA. Earlier this week, Engelbert announced an ambitious plan that would see the WNBA expand from 12 teams to 16 teams by 2028. The league is already scheduled to add a Golden State expansion team within the next year, and the next step would be introducing a 14th team by 2026. The frontrunners for new WNBA teams include Philadelphia, Toronto, Portland, Denver, Nashville, as well as cities in South Florida.

WNBA expansion into new markets is essential for increasing the notoriety of the league. Adding new teams will increase the number of markets exposed to the WNBA and should make it easier to increase revenue.