Former Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro, whose signing of Michael Jordan propelled the company to become the most popular sports apparel brand worldwide, told TMZ Sports that he believes Indiana Fever No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark deserves a similar deal to the one Jordan signed in 1984.

Vaccaro, who was played by Matt Damon in the biographical sports drama film 'Air' chronicling his pursuit and signing of Jordan, said Clark, 22, who recently signed an eight-year, $28 million Nike endorsement deal, should not only be paid more money, but also receive a percentage on every signature item sold, an incentive included in the eventual billionaire six-time NBA champion's deal 40 years prior.

"She should have gotten a piece of everything," Vaccaro told TMZ Sports.

Vaccaro acknowledged that Clark's representatives and other shoe companies were to blame for Nike being able to offer what he said appeared to be a company-friendly contract. The NCAA basketball's all-time leading scorer also reportedly received a four-year, $16 million offer from Under Armour and a four-year, $6 million offer from Adidas, while Puma showed interest but backed out of negotiations when notified that bidding would start at $3 million, prior to reaching an agreement with Nike, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"I'm saying to you," Vaccaro said, "they messed up. They should have held on to the last drop."

Vaccaro's comments came days after Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy claimed Clark was getting screwed" by her Nike deal.

"If people want to complain about Caitlin Clark getting screwed complain about this. 8 year 28 million deal is STEALING. 8 years 80 million min is her worth and that's still prob too cheap. I hope she has an early opt out if they don't pay up when she blows through this deal," Portnoy wrote in response to ESPN's report on his X account Tuesday (April 23).

Mel Taylor