WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark’s new “Inspire” basketball from Wilson Sporting Goods sold out in less than 40 minutes.
The Inspire balls, which come in pastel colors and the black and yellow of Ms. Clark’s alma mater, Iowa Hawkeyes, are part of a line of signature Wilson basketballs being released this year.
The basketballs went on sale Monday but were soon gone. Wilson has not disclosed the exact amount of stock sold, but it numbers in the tens of thousands, according to Sports Business Journal.
Executives at the company compared the Indiana Fever star’s deal to another past deal with an all-time NBA superstar.
“We haven’t done a deal of this magnitude since we did one with Michael Jordan 30 to 40 years ago when we launched his first collection of basketballs. I don’t know that I could name you an athlete in recent memory that we have worked with that has sold at this level,” David Picioski, Wilson’s head of global brand partnerships and collections, told SBJ.
The Inspire balls will be restocked in a few months, Mr. Picioski said.
In announcing the collection in May, Ms. Clark said, “Wilson has been with me across some of the most pivotal moments in my career so far. … It feels surreal to have my own basketball collection.”
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There are seven Clark-themed basketballs on the Wilson website, though none are currently available for purchase. The $24.95 Inspire ball and a $49.95 gold “Highlight Reel” ball are listed as sold out, while another five balls, including a $99.95 orange game basketball, are listed as out of stock.
