It’s a movement. Whether you lit the first spark or are riding the current wave, this growth of women’s basketball is personal to every athlete who’s ever laced up and stepped on that hardwood. WNBA players have been dominating for years, but only now is the sport finally getting the mainstream recognition it’s always deserved.

Yet, amidst all the buzz and media attention, there’s one glaring blind spot that stubbornly refuses to keep pace: sneaker deals. Despite historical milestones in the same culture, there have been far too many prolonged silences. So, decades of delays and missed opportunities reveal a deeper issue that has only now begun to be addressed.

WNBA’s signature shoe club

The movement started even before the WNBA tipped off. In 1993, Sheryl Swoopes did not just win an NCAA championship, but dropped 47 points for Texas Tech, a feat that instantly cemented her as the next big thing in women’s basketball. The buzz was loud and even Nike could not ignore it. By 1995, designer Marni Gerber had spent countless hours shadowing Swoopes, from her drills and post-practice hangouts to outings at the local steakhouse, all to ensure the upcoming sneaker truly screamed Sheryl. 

Nike then dropped the first-ever women’s signature basketball shoe: the Air Swoopes I. Its mid-cut silhouette delivered agile support, complete with a secure midfoot strap, ankle reinforcement, and a heel tab tailored for long fingernails. Topped off with Swoopes’s iconic stylized “S,” the sneaker wasn’t just functional, it was a statement, boldly designed “for Sheryl’s tenacity.” Swoopes later went on to release seven other signature shoes, still the longest run for any women’s player.

The dominoes started to fall. Rebecca Lobo signed with Reebok. Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley, Cynthia Cooper, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Diana Taurasi all got their shot with Nike. Nikki McCray went with Fila. But after all that? Silence. A decade-long lull before Candace Parker stepped in with Adidas in 2010. Her “Ace” line gave us two models, but the last one dropped in 2012. Then, a whole lot of waiting. Until 2021, when Breanna Stewart teamed up with Puma and became the 10th WNBA player to get a signature shoe.

Next came Elena Delle Donne, who went from Nike’s FlyEase face to her very own Air Deldon. Then, Sabrina Ionescu made waves at NBA All-Star Weekend with the Nike Sabrina 1 and followed it up with the Sabrina 2. And now, it’s A’ja Wilson’s moment with the long-awaited A’One as the 14th WNBA athlete across all brands to receive her own signature shoe. The Pink A’ura of her shoes was on full display as they sold out within minutes of hitting the shelves.

Yet, the story is far from over. It took nearly two years for Wilson’s shoes to be released. And now, Caitlin Clark, the league’s most valuable asset, is still on the waiting list. Nike has confirmed the shoe and Clark’s custom logo are in active development, with the logo expected to be unveiled in Holiday 2025. However, that is no relief for fans with the former Nike Basketball Marketing Director, Jordan Rogers, even saying that Nike is not doing enough.

Why the disparity? 

Attendance is up, ratings are climbing, and fans are showing up. 2024 was the WNBA’s most-watched regular season in 24 years, finished with its highest attendance in 22 years, and set records for digital consumption and merchandise sales 2024. But when it comes to one of the biggest status symbols in the sport, WNBA stars still don’t get the same love. Why?

Signature shoe standard

There’s no clear roadmap for earning a signature shoe in the women’s game. While some WNBA stars have racked up championships and MVPs, they’ve had to wait years (or decades) to get their own sneakers. Meanwhile, NBA players with fewer accolades are getting deals fast.

Take Ja Morant: no NCAA title, no NBA title, no Finals MVP. Yet he signed a $12 million/year deal with Nike and launched his signature line within a few seasons. Now look at A’ja Wilson. She’s won three WNBA MVPs, WNBA titles, a college championship, and the DPOY award. Only recently did she get her own shoe. And what about Caitlin Clark? As Rogers further argued, Nike seems to be treating her like DeMar DeRozan and not like the needle mover she is. 

In the WNBA, the unwritten rule seems to be: only one woman at a time can have the spotlight. The last time two WNBA players had signature shoes in the same year was 1998. That was Lisa Leslie and Dawn Staley. Since then, just one at a time, max. The list is still shockingly short. So, Nike seems to be playing a quiet game of competitive devaluation. And when you really look at it, the result isn’t innovation; it’s regression. It pushes the WNBA not forward, but decades in reverse.

The Jordan Effect & gender bias

Nike’s signature sneaker empire started with a massive gamble: giving Michael Jordan a $2.5 million deal in 1984. That single bet led to a sneaker that made $126 million in its first year. In 2023, Jordan Brand alone brought in $6.6 billion. “He [Jordan] is the genesis of Nike basketball,“ said Malcolm Hodge, Nike’s footwear and apparel innovation strategy manager. “It has evolved by his legacy, who he has influenced – people like Kobe Bryant, Jason Tatum, and LeBron James. All of these people were definitely inspired by Michael Jordan.”

This kind of brand faith has never been extended to WNBA stars. Part of this is longevity. The NBA has had decades to build out its sneaker economy. The WNBA is still under 30 years old. “When women play basketball, they look at Michael Jordan and see what he’s wearing and that’s what they want to wear,” entrepreneur and sports agent Leonard Armato told EssentiallySports. “So you know, [brands say] ‘we’ll pay you little money but that’s it. You don’t drive any sales for us.'”

Revenue and retail realities

There’s no sugarcoating the numbers. The NBA generates more than $8 billion a year while the WNBA makes merely around $60 million. And sneaker sales reflect that. NBA stars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Michael Jordan each earn $26–32 million annually just from shoe deals. Nike’s basketball division made $5.1 billion in 2022, largely from NBA-focused signature shoes. Jordan Brand alone made $19 billion over the past five years.

By comparison, even the most successful WNBA shoes don’t yet register as blips in those figures. Still, signs of a shift are appearing as Sabrina Ionescu’s debut shoe saw over 200% year-over-year growth.  Fans are lining up. But the system still trails the demand.

The design dilemma

Tiffany Beers, the designer behind Nike’s Mag and Air Yeezy, outlined the real challenge. Signature WNBA sneakers are designed specifically for high-level women’s basketball performance. Jordans, on the other hand, are cultural icons worn everywhere. “All the Jordans are high-performance basketball shoes that people wear daily,” she said. “But if you’ve worn one as a female, you can tell it’s a lot of shoe to be wearing every day.“

Nike Blazer Mids and Chuck Taylor Converse became basketball staples thanks to their clean, minimal design that worked well both on and off the court. But today, creating a basketball shoe that performs equally well for both men and women often means compromising on either comfort or performance. As footwear expert Beers explained, without a strong and consistent demand for women’s basketball shoes, brands are hesitant to invest the time and resources needed to develop them. And until a WNBA signature shoe generates the same buzz as a pair of Jordans, most companies will continue to look the other way.

Furthermore, the marketing lacks seriously. Jasmine Baker, founder of @WeGotGame2, a platform that highlights Black women in sports, believes brands need to step up their game when it comes to supporting WNBA players. That includes everything from launching signature sneakers to hosting meaningful events.

“We’re in a new era of women’s basketball,” she told Input. “The real question is whether the brands are ready to be part of it.” She pointed out that with men, brands rarely hesitate as multiple players get signature shoes without much debate. But with women, it’s always about picking one. “Why is it that only one woman gets the spotlight, while men have whole sneaker lines and we keep buying them anyway?”

But despite all these factors, can things change now? 

Are we finally stepping into change?

If A’ja Wilson were playing in the NBA, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. She would’ve gotten her own signature sneaker years ago. But it’s the truth that it took until early 2023 for Nike to finally tell her: Yes, you’re getting a shoe. “I probably cried for a couple of days,” Wilson admitted when Nike broke the news.

For a while, the plan was kept under wraps. But with each passing game, each record, each win, each highlight, fans were getting more impatient. Especially after Wilson clinched another championship in 2023, and there was still radio silence on her shoe. Finally, in May 2024, Nike made it official: the A’One sneaker would launch, alongside a full apparel line.

The response was massive.  At 10 a.m. ET, it dropped. By 10:05, it was gone. Retailing at \$110 for adults and \$90 for kids, resale prices shot up over \$230. Two more colorways – Indigo Girl and OG Pearl – were released, and the reception was the same. With this, Wilson also became the first Black WNBA player since 2011 to get her own signature sneaker. So, being recognised is even harder for black athletes.

Big brands love to say they care about diversity and inclusion, especially in sports. But even with all the promises, real change is still moving really slowly. Back in the summer of 2020, when there were a lot of protests and conversations about race, athletic brands posted messages supporting Black athletes. But when it came to actually including them in things like new product launches, many were still left out.

Cat Ariail, who studies women’s sports history, said that if brands truly respected these athletes and treated them fairly, we wouldn’t have to keep talking about race and fairness in women’s sports. But because there’s still not enough money, support, or smart planning going into women’s gear and merch, things just aren’t improving the way they should.

So with the W growing fast, fueled by both the vets’ fire and the new-gen buzz, can future stars dare to hope?

What drove the shift and still matters

Social media

Social media has cracked the door open. Players are no longer waiting for brands. They’re creating their own audiences. Stars like Angel Reese have leveraged TikTok and Instagram to amass millions of followers. Reese, for example, grew her follower count from 447K to over 4.8 million, making her the most followed WNBA player today. This direct connection to fans gives players undeniable marketability, which is something brands can’t ignore.

NIL deals

Since the NCAA changed its rules in 2021 to let athletes profit off their name, image, and likeness, we’ve seen a whole new era of visibility. Players are building their personal brands earlier, starring in commercials, landing major endorsements, and entering the league with a built-in following.

For instance, Paige Bueckers was already a star and even used partnerships to launch philanthropic initiatives. Then we have JuJu Watkins and Flau’jae Johnson, still in college, but leading when it comes to brand deals.

Broadcast boom

Broadcast networks are finally giving women’s basketball the airtime it deserves. ESPN first started airing the women’s NCAA tournament in 1996, but it took until 2023 for the championship game to finally make it to ABC. Once it did, viewership exploded, hitting an all-time high of 18.9 million and peaking at 24 million during the 2024 final, making it the most-watched college basketball game (men’s or women’s) since 2019.  In the WNBA, since CC’s arrival, records continue to break. A record 41 of 44 Fever games will be nationally televised this season.

Going forward, to force the pace on WNBA signature shoes, brands need:

• Data-backed evidence of strong sales
• A bold “gender offense” strategy
• Utilization of the NIL pipeline (the young stars)
• Investment in women-specific design + lifestyle versatility
• A clear cultural narrative (representation, media coverage)

With this, we can say that cultural clout is exploding. Sure, there’s a long way to go, but WNBA players now have more reach and arguably more pop culture pull than they did even in the league’s early days. Hopefully, that momentum keeps building and pushes brands to invest more in W players.