Chicago Bears No. 1 overall 2024 NFL Draft pick Caleb Williams broke the Fanatics record for draft night merchandise sales for any sport just days after it was set by Indiana Fever No. 1 overall 2024 WNBA Draft pick Caitlin Clark last week, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.
"Chicago’s No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams broke the Fanatics record for draft night merchandise sales for any draft pick in any sport, beating the previous record set last week by Caitlin Clark," Schefter wrote on his X account Friday (April 26) morning.
Williams, 22, who won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell, Walter Camp and AP College Football Player of the Year awards in 2022, was long suspected to be selected by the Bears after the franchise secured the eventual No. 1 pick in a trade made with the Carolina Panthers last offseason. Chicago traded former No. 11 overall pick Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers in March to clear the way for Williams to take over as the team's franchise quarterback.
“My goal is to get into as far as February as I can,” Williams said, referring to leading the Bears to potentially leading their first Super Bowl since 1986, via the Associated Press.
Clark, 22, recently signed a historic eight-year, $28 million Nike endorsement deal shortly after being selected by the Indiana Fever as the top pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. The former Iowa standout recently had her previous deal with Nike, which was agreed upon in 2022, expire following the conclusion of her decorated college basketball career at Iowa, allowing her to hit the market at the height of her popularity.
Clark's emergence as the face of women's college basketball has led to a significant increase in popularity for the sport, which included her final collegiate game, a loss to South Carolina in the March Madness Final, being the most viewed women's sporting event in history, peaking at 24 million viewers and averaging 18.7 million, which was a larger than the men's final for the first time in history. Clark recorded 30 points, including 18 in the first period, eight rebounds and five assists and averaged 31.6 points, 8.9 assists and 7.4 rebounds during her final season at Iowa.
Clark is scheduled to make her preseason WNBA debut against the Dallas Wings on May 3. The Fever will have 36 nationally televised games during the 2024 WNBA season.