Did WNBA basketball player Caitlin Clark reject a $400 million deal from Nike because of the company's association with NFL-quarterback-turned-civil-rights-activist Colin Kaepernick? No, that's not true: This claim first appeared in an article on a website with a satire disclaimer. There is no publicly available or credible evidence anything like this ever happened.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on July 10, 2024. The caption said:
Breaking: Caitlin Clark Rejects $400 Million Deal From Nike, 'Not With That Kaepernick Clown'
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Fri Jul 12 21:59:46 2024 UTC)
Indiana Fever Guard Caitlin Clark accepted a $28 million deal from Nike in April 2024.
Colin Kaepernick, who once played for the San Francisco 49ers NFL football team, is known for his activism against police brutality and racial discrimination. In October 2023, Sports Illustrated reported that Nike had launched a new apparel line to "tell the story of Kaepernick's impact and journey."
The claim about Clark rebuffing a Nike deal over Kaepernick came from a June 19, 2024, SpaceXMania article (archived here) titled, "Breaking: Caitlin Clark Turns Down Massive Nike Endorsement Worth $400 Million, 'Never In A Million Years With That Kaepernick Clown.'" The disclaimer (archived here) on the SpaceXmania website reads:
SpaceXMania does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information.
Underneath the About Satire section on the disclaimer page, it reads:
Please note that the article under the category "SATIRE" are satirical in nature and are not meant to be taken seriously. These articles are meant to be humorous and are often entirely made up. We make no claim that the information presented in these articles is true or accurate.
Lead Stories contacted Nike for a statement about the validity of the claim about Clark. This fact check will be updated if a response is received.
Other fact-checking outlets have also reviewed this claim, including Reuters, Snopes and PolitiFact.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks mentioning Caitlin Clark and SpaceXMania can be read here and here.
