Sports brands are launching a massive "attack" of WNBA

Text | Yang Yuman

From Clark with a "fault" traffic to Sabrina with a big signature shoe, from veteran player Aja to the new No. 1 pick Page, Nike almost "monopolized" the endorsement of the WNBA's leading star.

This is not the end. Recently, Nike reached a cooperation with Napheesa Collier, who was selected for the Best Team for three consecutive years, to expand his WNBA endorsement lineup to 12 players.

Caitlin Clark (left) Sabrina Ionescu (right) Source: Instagram@nikebasketball

When NBA players put on female player signature shoes and WNBA stars become walking "billboards", and Nike's strategic results for women's basketball are gradually showing, other brands can't sit still.

On the WNBA, more and more sports brands are giving endorsements to players, creating exclusive signature shoes, and are reconstructing the value map of the women's basketball world with unprecedented strength.

Nike, "monopoly" signing of WNBA star

When it comes to WNBA, Nike must be the name that cannot be avoided.

Recently, Nike is behind the news that Sabrina Ionescu's signature shoes have repeatedly made it to the best-selling list, or the news that A 'ja Wilson's joint sneakers have been hyped up to thousands of dollars in the secondary market.

This is not a coincidence, just because the brand's "support" WNBA action began very early and advanced deeply.

Year is called back to 1997, the year after the birth of the WNBA, Nike has been exposed as its marketing partner on the field. After that, through an increase agreement, it became the WNBA's team uniform sponsor in 2018. After years of development, Nike has occupied an important position in the WNBA sponsorship ranks.

The official brand website public data shows that the number of Nike signed players who played in the WNBA All-Star and the national team of women's basketball in 2024 has exceeded the total of all sports brands. It was also in this year that Nike announced another agreement with the NBA and WNBA leagues to extend the cooperative relationship until 2037. The identity of the official sponsor ensures the exposure of the brand jerseys on the court. In addition, they have not missed the important "advertising space" of sneakers - 28 years ago, Nike designed and launched the first signature shoe for Sheryl Swoopes; in 2023, the Sabrina 1 jointly created by Nike and New York Liberty defender Sabrina Ionescu became the "selling championship" in the North American and Chinese markets at the same time.

Even according to brand statistics, more than 80 NBA players were wearing Sabrina series sneakers in the same season, which was equivalent to the starting scale of 16 teams. Are the world's top men's basketball players wearing women's basketball shoes together? Although this sounds incredible, it is a fact that Nike and WNBA stars are co-branding under the "hot trend". The popularity of the

Sabrina series is not an isolated case. Recently, the number of likes from Nike's series of posters for Aja Wilson's new sneakers has easily exceeded one million. The brand has almost filled up relevant pictures and texts on instagram alone, and has specially put them on top. Multiple social media comment sections are filled with fans who are amazed at the design style and are looking forward to the sale.

On the other hand, the brand continues to occupy a share and enhance its influence in the women's basketball market with its exposure inside and outside the court; on the other hand, the WNBA, which has gained sponsorship, has the ability to continue to "polish" the league's signature and athlete IP, and improve its status and weight in the women's sports world.

Obviously, in this joint business network, brands and alliances have achieved a "win-win" approach.

Source: Instagram@nikebasketball

At the same time, the risks and challenges on the other side of the coin are also clearly visible.

From the player's perspective, when Nike becomes the only or main choice for most top players, they will inevitably be passive in negotiations. In addition, uneven resource allocation and risk of public opinion binding are also hidden worries in players' career paths.

From the alliance perspective, if the dependence on a single brand is too high, if the other party reduces investment due to its own strategic adjustment or external factors, the alliance will lack space for financial buffering. At the same time, there will be potential problems such as the decline in sponsor market vitality and the singularization of alliance image.

Authentic, these are extreme situations that have not yet happened, but also reminders players and the WNBA to be prepared for risks and challenges.

And after all, the key is to let more brands know and believe that the WNBA is by no means an accessory to the men's basketball team, and the league has its own value.

WNBA has become the "new battlefield" of sports brands

Now, the growing influence of stars and the hot WNBA market have great appeal to sports brands.

Just like the "No. 1" Paige Bueckers, the new generation of opinion leaders who have millions of fans on social media with their outstanding appearance and temperament.

Source: Page Bux Social Media

Caitlin Clark, who currently plays for the Indiana Fanatics, has set off a "Clark effect" historic. Driven by her full line, the league's tickets and jersey sales reached an unprecedented level - in 2024, the season tickets of three WNBA teams were sold out historic before the start of the game; multiple teams rush to upgrade the game against the fanatic team to a larger venue to cope with the skyrocketing ticket demand.

In addition, data from sports goods supplier Fanatics pointed out that Clark's No. 22 jersey ranked second in the U.S. jersey sales list in 2024, second only to NBA superstar Stephen Curry.

Photo source: justwomenssports

Watching the WNBA's "cake" getting bigger and bigger, other sports brands will inevitably have the idea of ​​joining the game.

But the fact that Nike, as a sponsor, has already exposed its rights and interests in the official WNBA team uniform, has also signed many top players by making advance arrangements and taking the initiative. They can only think of other tricks in this regard.

First of all, it is to change the way of exerting strength and focus resources on one or several players.

For example, Under Armour chose to sign well-known star Kelsey Plum, and even specially customized an exclusive color matching set on her 30th birthday. On the other hand, Adidas and former WNBA professional athlete Candace Parker have recently performed a new co-branded series.

PUMA Puma created the first pair of women's signature sneakers in the brand's history for Breanna Stewart of Seattle Storm; Cameron Brink of Los Angeles Sparks won the New Balance contract and recently shot a new advertising blockbuster for the brand.

Briena Stewart (left) Cameron Blink (right) Source: PUMA, New Balance Social Media

In addition, in terms of route selection, some brands are seeking opportunities in the relatively low-profile college league.

Just as Under Armour sponsored the 2023-2024 NCAA (American University Athletic Association) women's basketball champion team, the Curry Brand also signed MiLaysia Fulwiley, a player in the team's championship lineup for the first time.

Source: Instagram@currybrand

Although these sponsors cannot be directly converted into brand income in the short term, in the development system of the US women's basketball team, these college students are likely to enter the WNBA or even reach the top level, which is actually a "bet" behavior of the brand.

Whether it is for key players or taking a different approach, these contracts that have emerged in recent years have intuitively reflected that the competition among sports brands in and outside the WNBA arena has entered a fierce momentum.

In this process, sports brands and events have jointly shaped WNBA's new position in the global sports market - more and more brands continue to tilt their resources, budgets and communication power to the league, and sneakers printed with the logos and signatures of female players have become "value-preserving models" and "hard currency" in the market.

Nike once launched a women's basketball joint shoe model. Source: Instagram@boardroom

Of course, brands should also be vigilant to avoid falling into the "trap" of blind pursuit of traffic and conversion, and ignore the real stories and needs of female athletes. No one can accurately predict the next evolution of the WNBA, but at least what is clearly visible now is that this awakening of commercial value that began with the basketball court is affecting the entire women's sports world. Maybe it won't take long to talk about great players and joint and signature shoes, no longer need the prefix WNBA or "female" tag.

Because of the outstanding performance of the players on the court, it has never been related to gender.