Why Nike Is WRONG For Not Having A Caitlin Clark Signature Shoe

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Nike has a $28 million decision to make with its Caitlin Clark shoe: Design it for women or make it unisex?

Retail expert says Nike is making a mistake if it doesn’t design the shoe for women’s feet

 and Caitlin Clark agreed to a record-setting $28 million shoe deal for a WNBA player, the two sides agreed to create a signature shoe for the Indiana Fever guard.

But as the design process for the signature shoe commences, the question remains: Will the shoe be designed uniquely for women’s basketball players, or will it be unisex?

“I hope Clark’s shoe is made for a woman,” Spurwink River’s retail expert Matt Powell told MarketWatch. “Many women’s performance basketball shoes are simply a sized-down men’s product.” Before starting Spurwink River, Powell spent eight years as senior sports industry advisor at research firm NPD.

Nike’s online basketball store has many shoes listed in the women’s section, but nearly all of them are the same shoes listed in the men’s section, with both men’s and women’s sizing options.

For example, a signature shoe designed and worn by Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant is available in sizes for men and women. Shoes from other NBA players including LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ja Morant are listed in women’s sizes too, without any design or structural differences, Nike confirmed.

Why should Clark’s shoe be designed for women’s feet?

“Brands make very few women-specific basketball shoes,” Powell said. “A woman’s foot is more triangular, forefoot to heel, and her arch tends to be higher than a man’s foot. A man’s foot tends to be more rectangular, and consequently, a shoe built for a man’s foot is really not right for a woman’s foot.”

Of course, feet can come in all shapes and sizes regardless of gender.

“We had what I considered a major step back this year with the Sabrina shoe, which they called unisex,” Powell said.

Nike debuted a performance shoe made with the branding of New York Liberty’s All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu in 2023, and the second version of the shoe is set to come in June, in unisex sizes. NBA players who have worn Ionescu’s signature shoe include Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton and Jrue Holiday.

Nike was not able to divulge any information about plans for any potential Clark-branded products, but pointed out the company works with its athletes to ensure their vision on products is met. Including with Ionescu, who decided to focus on a gender-neutral theme.

Powell believes that because the women’s basketball shoe market is so small, in addition to the overall decline in the men’s performance basketball shoe market, that Nike should make a shoe specifically for Clark and her WNBA career instead of trying to make a shoe that fits men’s feet too.

“Nike is never going to make any of this ($28 million) up in shoe sales. This is all about marketing and being associated with her, and sharing in her success,” Powell said.

“Nike could show real leadership in women’s basketball by making a shoe properly shaped for a woman’s foot,” he added.

Late last year, the athletic-wear giant announced 740 job cuts at its flagship headquarters in Oregon as part of its $2 billion in cost-cutting measures over three years.

And in March, Nike announced it faced faltering demand for shoes and clothing and slipping digital sales.

“We are confident that we are taking the right actions to fuel brand momentum and return to stronger long-term growth,” Nike said during the company’s March earnings about its basketball business.

The company also noted it saw “strong double digit growth this quarter in basketball.”

Executives on Nike’s earnings call pointed to the Olympics in Paris this summer as a time to spotlight some of its new offerings in basketball, football and running. Top Nike basketball athletes who could be members of the U.S. men’s and women’s Olympic rosters this summer include LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Ionescu, Clark and A’Ja Wilson.

, which re-entered the performance basketball market in 2018 after a multi-year hiatus, developed a performance basketball shoe for female athletes when it signed WNBA All-Star Breanna Stewart to a signature shoe deal.

On Puma’s website, the “Stewie 3” basketball shoes are listed as women’s-only and are not labeled in the category of unisex or men. However, some NBA players, including Michael Porter Jr. and Deandre Ayton, have worn Stewart’s shoes in their games. They wear other shoes from Puma during games as well.

Only three WNBA players currently have a signature shoe: Breanna Stewart (Puma), Ionescu (Nike) and Elena Delle Donne (Nike). Two more players have signed deals to have a signature shoe — Clark and A’Ja Wilson (Nike), but the shoes have not been released yet. Signature shoes for Wilson could be ready in 2025, and Clark’s could be ready in 2026, according to a SportingNews report.

Of the roughly 450 players in the NBA, just 26 have a signature shoe.