WNBA superstar A’ja Wilson inks blockbuster Nike deal

Wilson is considered the best in the WNBA, and the world, after completing a historic season where she broke multiple records
A'ja Wilson
A'ja Wilson waits to check into game against Minnesota Lynx (Photo credit: Nagashia Jackson for rolling out)

A’ja Wilson, the reigning WNBA MVP, has signed a blockbuster extension deal with Nike following her historic season.

The 28-year-old superstar first signed with the behemoth sneaker and apparel company following her national championship victory for Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks in 2018.


Wilson broke multiple WNBA records in 2024

This extension announcement comes after Wilson compiled what some sports pundits call the greatest single season in WNBA history. The 6-foot-4 forward for the Las Vegas Aces won her third MVP, and she set league records for scoring average, most overall points, most rebounds in a season, and the most blocked shots ever. The two-time WNBA champ was also the driving force behind Team USA winning the gold medal in the Paris Olympics, where she was also named the MVP of the summer games.

According to ESPN and Yahoo! Sports, the restructured Nike deal is considered one of the richest for a female athlete in America, though no specific number was revealed.


Wilson accepts congrats

“To be the next Black woman with a signature shoe, oh my gosh, I am so excited for next year. I can’t contain it,” Wilson told Footwear News. “It’s such a big moment. When [the news] first dropped, Coach [Dawn] Staley hit me, Sheryl [Swoopes] hit me, Lisa [Leslie] hit me and they were all like, ‘You deserve this.’ To have greats, Hall of Famers like that say that to me, I was like, ‘God, thank you.’”

Wilson is the first Black WNBA star to get her own shoe line since Adidas had the Ace Versatility for legend Candace Parker in 2011. JuJu Watkins, a sophomore sensation at the University of Southern California, also inked a shoe deal with Nike that was cemented over the summer of 2024.

Wilson has joined other female sports icons Serena Williams, Megan Rapinoe, Naomi Osaka, UConn’s Paige Bueckers and fellow WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu who are members of Nike’s signature athletes lineup.

As Wilson prepares for the 2025 season that starts in May, she has embraced the pressure to create a shoe line that resonates with consumers and her fans.

“There is pressure when it comes to competing with other brands or just wanting to [have] the best shoe, but at the same time you don’t want the message to get lost, you don’t want the storytelling to get lost. That’s tough because there are a lot of great ideas,” Wilson told FN.

“We have some dope shoes out there. You don’t want your shoe to be just another one. You want longevity, you want a shoe to have a name after a game you had, like the [Air Jordan 12] ‘Flu Game.’ That type of substance is a lot of pressure.”

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