Caitlin Clark Talks NIL Opportunities, Transfer Portal on Kelce Podcast

TIME's Athlete of the Year shares unique perspective on current state of college athletes with Travis and Jason Kelce on the New Heights podcast.

Iowa women’s basketball’s Caitlin Clark shows off her rings during a second quarter timeout during Iowa football’s game against Northwestern Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. / Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tipping off the new year with a podcast appearance on the widely popular show "New Heights," WNBA Rookie of the Year and All-Star Caitlin Clark joined Travis and Jason Kelce to talk about the current state of college athletics.

The Iowa legend — and NCAA all-time leading scorer — opened up about her own NIL path and how the landscape has forever changed for student-athletes.

A trailblazer in the space while at Iowa — both on and off the court — Clark signed historic partnerships with the likes of Nike, State Farm, Panini and Gatorade, among others and has now taken her place as one of the most marketable athletes in the world.

But as a "first-generation" NIL athlete in college, Clark had the unique experience navigating the space without much structure or oversight from the NCAA.

"It became a thing after my freshman year and it was kind of weird because everybody was like, 'OK, so like what is it?'" she shared with the Kelce brothers. "Trying to maneuver the NCAA - they don't have any rules on much anymore - so it was more so like, 'OK, like what can we do? What can we not do?' We were also the first, so you're trying to figure it out as you go."

Polarizing on the hardwood with her record-breaking scoring ability, Clark transitioned to a bonafide pitch-woman as a college athlete. While most NIL deals are traditional brand to athlete transactions, Clark and her team at Excel Sports were able to garner multiple national TV campaigns, often reserved for superstar pro athletes.

"My family helped me a lot, but as you get going you just figure things out and it's fun but obviously it should have been a thing for a really long time," she added. "It's like the NIL part of it - like the true endorsements, like you're doing a commercial for the local coffee shop - it's something so easy and so simple. A normal student can do that, but like, why couldn't an athlete?"

In a wide-ranging conversation with the Kelce brothers, Clark detailed what the past year has been like and how NIL has already impacted women's sports in general and what the future could look like.

TIME's Athlete of the Year for 2024 has continued her trajectory on and off the court, helping women's basketball and the WNBA in particular reach record-breaking heights in 2024, from ticket sales and viewership to merchandise and corporate investment.

Although Clark was able to navigate the NIL space seamlessly, she knows that most don't have the resources both personally or via their school. Within her "New Heights" appearance, she also compared the "egregious" transfer portal trend of free agency - especially in football - to a "minor league" or sorts and illuminated how college athletics is losing a bit of amateurism, which is what made it so fun for athletes and fans alike.

In addition to joking about the lack of tax prep as a college athlete and quizzing the Kelce brothers on what their ideal NIL deals would have been while in school, Clark speaks on the opportunity for growth and accessibility of resources, so that all athletes can engage consistently and meaningfully.

"It's just such a simple thing that should have been a thing for a long time, but also it was challenging to navigate and it still is," Clark said. "Seeing these college students that don't have the right resources around them and it stinks like it's hard and I think that it's something that needs to become more prevalent. I know universities are trying to start having in-house NIL people or in-house lawyers to try to manage that. They're doing the best they can do, but obviously there's not many guidelines or rules, so it makes it hard as well. It obviously changed a lot and it's made it fun and I think it's also helped women's sports grow too."

As a WNBA rookie this past season for Indiana, Clark earned All-Star and All-WNBA First Team honors while leading the Fever to the playoffs and setting the league record for points and assists by a rookie. She tips off her sequel season in this Spring.