Sonny Vaccaro says he believes Caitlin Clark could have gotten a much better deal from Nike -- telling TMZ Sports he's sure the former Iowa superstar could've inked a pact similar to the one Michael Jordan got back in the day.
The shoe industry legend, of course, knows all about the deal MJ received -- he was the one who helped negotiate it. And, when he heard Clark only received $28 million over eight years to be with Phil Knight's co., he was surprised it wasn't more.
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Vaccaro tells us she could've landed a contract that not only gave her more annual money -- but also allowed her to take a cut of every Clark-branded item sold ... just like Jordan got with his initial Swoosh agreement in 1984.
Sanya Richards-Ross is returning to the Olympics, but not as an athlete -- her pajama/loungewear line will help keep Team USA nice and cozy in Paris ... and she tells TMZ Sports she's hoping to catch the country's biggest stars like LeBron James and Simone Biles wearing her gear!!
The four-time Olympic gold medalist and her two-time Super Bowl champion husband Aaron Ross partnered with Team USA to distribute their Coordinates collection to athletes for the 2024 and 2028 games ... and she tells us she's over the moon about being able to share their product with the Red, White and Blue.
'We want everybody in it," Richards-Ross said. "We get to gift it to Team USA. There's some incredible athletes that we're all excited to watch compete and we would love it if they wear it."
Of course, one of those athletes is the Lakers superstar ... who will be attempting to win his third Olympic gold medal with the Team USA basketball team.
SRR made sure to specifically shout him out -- and the James Gang.
"LeBron James and the fam. Savannah, the boys -- we wanna see you guys in it!" Richards-Ross said.
She hopes to catch gymnastic star Biles and track star Sha'Carri Richardson wearing their comfy clothes this July, too.
Sanya explained the idea for the Coordinatesline came from when she used to match outfits with Aaron while at the University of Texas. Then they launched the brand last November -- and sold out in one month!
"This basically started all from her heart," Aaron said. "We got together in 2003 in college and she's been coordinating us from that day."
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Marriage and running a business together can be a tough combination ... but the Ross duo -- who got married in 2010 -- said it works for them because of their great foundation and recognizing each other's strengths and weaknesses ... as well as their own.
"I think because we know each other so well, we're able to make it work," Sanya said.
"It ain't gon' be perfect, it's gonna be some tough conversations sometimes that come up but I think if you can give the person grace and really love on them, I think it could really work."
Kelly Oubre Jr.'s recent car accident has raised some questions within the Philadelphia Police Department ... and now, an internal investigation has been launched.
TMZ Sports has learned -- the PPD's Internal Affairs Division is looking into the handling of Monday night's crash involving Oubre and another driver ... specifically officers' response and actions while at the scene.
As we previously reported, cops told us Oubre's Lamborghini ran a red light and hit a 2023 Hyundai Elantra ... with both cars being towed from the scene.
Philadelphia 76ers hooper Kelly Oubre Jr. is considering handing over the keys after his recent car accident ... revealing he's mulling over the idea of hiring a personal driver.
Oubre -- who had 15 points and 7 rebounds in Thursday night's Game 3 matchup -- spoke about his wreck after the Sixers' big win ... saying he's doing fine, but will likely make some drastic changes to his day-to-day as a result of the incident.
"Everything is good," the 28-year-old said, according to reports. "I'm okay. The people that were involved were okay, but I need to probably get a driver or something and just stay off the road and behind the wheel, but everything is good. I'm good."
Kelly Oubre Jr. lost a playoff game Monday night and then he lost his beloved car ... TMZ Sports has learned he wrecked his Lamborghini in a crash just hours after the Sixers fell to the Knicks in Game 2 of their postseason series.
The Philadelphia Police Dept. tells us the wreck happened at around 1:45 AM on Tuesday ... shortly after Oubre and the 76ers dropped a heartbreaker at Madison Square Garden, 104-101.
Cops say Oubre's 2021 matte purple Lambo "disregarded a red traffic signal" ... and plowed into a 2023 Hyundai Elantra.
Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes' Cancun vacation looks like a scene outta "High School Musical" ... 'cause the hooper showed off his awesome singing abilities during a karaoke session!!
The 2021 No. 4 overall pick's offseason started early after the Dinos failed to make the postseason ... but he seemed to be in great spirits nonetheless -- belting out the classic Maroon 5 hit, "This Love."
Barnes put 100% into the performance ... dancing along to the song and doing his best to hit Adam Levine's high notes.
Cops are continuing to make headway in their investigation into Nikola Jokic's brother ... telling TMZ Sports they've located the man who Strahinja Jokic punched in the face earlier this week.
A spokesperson for the Denver Police Dept. said on Thursday morning they've "been in communication" with the fan who Strahinja socked after Game 2 of the Lakers vs. Nuggets game at Ball Arena on Monday night.
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The rep did not reveal, however, if the man is seeking to press charges -- or if he's formally filed a police report.
Bronny James might've already figured out his next college move -- at least, that's what some people are thinking after Duquesne head coach Dru Joyce's latest social media post ... which included a clear nod to the young hooper's NBA superstar pops.
Joyce -- a member of LeBron's Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School championship teams back in the day -- shared quite an interesting GIF on Wednesday ... showing him doing King James' signature chalk toss with a caption that teased a huge announcement.
The post could mean anything, but plenty of folks believe it means Bronny is slated to team up with his dad's longtime friend and former teammate for his sophomore season of college ball.
El básquetbol no es el único amor en la vida de Caitlin Clark. La nueva estrella de la WNBA reveló el miércoles que también está muy enamorada de su novio, dejando caer las preciadas palabras sobre él en un tierno post en redes sociales.
Clark publicó el mensaje en su cuenta de Instagram para conmemorar su primer aniversario con Connor McCaffery y escribió: "Haces que cada día sea mejor".
"Y no puedo esperar por muchas más aventuras juntos ...", agregó. "Te amo".
Basketball ain't the only love in Caitlin Clark's life ... the new WNBA star revealed Wednesday she's smitten with her boyfriend too -- droppin' an L-bomb on him in a sappy social media post.
Clark delivered the mushy message on her Instagram page to commemorate her and Connor McCaffery's 1-year anniversary ... writing, "you make everyday better."
"And I can’t wait for many more adventures together…," she added. "love you."
No, Devin Booker did NOT shoot his shot with a famous actress in the middle of the playoffs ... but his fans apparently had to make sure for themselves -- rushing to "Squid Game" star Hoyeon Jung's Instagram and leaving comments after a fake meme made rounds this week.
The Phoenix Suns guard has been the butt of jokes throughout the start of the playoffs ... with some hoop fans criticizing Book for shooting just 25% from three in the first two games against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The trolling continued on Wednesday ... when a fake NBA news account shared an altered screenshot of Booker publicly hollering at Hoyeon on her most recent post -- just to get rejected.
Caitlin Clark was slated to make AT LEAST $15 million if she had agreed to suit up for Ice Cube's Big3 ... so says league co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz, who's revealing more eye-popping details on the lucrative offer.
TMZ Sports broke the story ... the former Iowa basketball superstar was presented a historic $5 million deal to play just 10 games for the 3-on-3 organization last month -- while still being able to pursue a WNBA career.
Kwatinetz revealed in an article for OutKickhe believes the "male agents and executives controlling the sport" never actually told Clark about the contract ... which is a big loss for her bank account.
Caitlin Clark's Nike deal is being celebrated as historic by many fans, but the contract should've been worth so much more, according to Dave Portnoy ... who says the Swoosh is committing armed robbery!
"If people want to complain about Caitlin Clark getting screwed complain about this. 8 year 28 million deal is STEALING," the Barstool founder wrote on X.
The deal, which comes along with a signature Clark shoe, has an annual average value of $3.5 million.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton says his little brother was called the n-word while he was sitting in the stands watching Indiana's game vs. Milwaukee over the weekend.
The two-time All-Star made the revelation during a meeting with reporters following Indiana's playoff victory over the Bucks on Tuesday night ... saying the racial slur was hurled at some point in Game 1 of the series in Wisconsin on Sunday.
Haliburton didn't go into detail about how it all went down ... or how his family and the Bucks reacted ... but he did say his brother "has handled that the right way" in the wake of it all.
8:20 AM PT -- TMZ Sports has learned ... the NBA is currently looking into the situation.
Nikola Jokic's brother was in no mood to celebrate the Nuggets' comeback win over the Lakers on Monday ... 'cause he straight-up punched a fan in the stands at the playoff game -- and it's all on video.
According to witnesses, the violent incident went down shortly after Joker and his Denver teammates completed their 101-99 win against LeBron James and co. to go up 2-0 in the first-round series.
