Breanna Stewart is Puma’s newest signature athlete. The WNBA superstar announced that she inked a deal with Puma on Wednesday on The Boardroom with ESPN’s Nick DePaula.
It’s not just any old sneaker deal, though. She’ll be the only athlete on Puma’s current roster to have a signature shoe.
Players like LaMelo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and others have had player exclusive colorways, but not an entire signature model. Stewart will be their first and only signature athlete so far.
On top of that, and more importantly, she’ll be the 10th WNBA player to have a signature shoe model in league history. She’ll also be the first WNBA signature athlete in 10 years.
BREAKING: @WNBA Finals MVP @BreannaStewart has signed with @PUMAhoops — and will receive her own Signature Shoe in the future.
Stewie will become just the 10th player in #WNBA history with a Signature Shoe, the 1st in 10 years.
She discussed the milestone with @Boardroom: pic.twitter.com/eAV6ANwxWg
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) May 12, 2021
“Anytime you hear signature, I think that’s jaw-dropping. Eye opening. There haven’t been many — especially on the women’s side. The Air Swoopes, a while while back. So for Puma to be able to kind of put the signature element out there, respect me enough where they think that I deserve a signature shoe is super exciting.”
This is just incredible on a number of levels, but let’s get to the big one. This is Breanna Stewart making history.
There just haven’t been many signature athletes that have come from women’s basketball. Big names like Cheryl Swoopes, Diana Taurasi and Candace Parker have had joints. Parker’s TS Ace Commander that dropped in 2010 was the last.
Stewart’s signature shoe will be the first one since. There’s really no good explanation for that gap — especially considering how much the WNBA has grown already both from a fiscal standpoint and a popularity standpoint.
It doesn’t just stop there, though. Stewart is about to get a spotlight that no Puma athlete in recent years has gotten.
J Cole is Puma’s current “signature athlete” and he’s a rapper. They’ve never had an athlete in that signature space — Stewart will be the first. And as the first, she’s going to be the headline for the brand. And that’s a big deal.
Puma rightfully believes in Stewart. Her resume is impeccable. She’s just 26 years old and has every possible award and accolade you could want a signature athlete to have. Women’s sports are also growing at an insane rate — particularly the WNBA.
This is less of a risk for Puma and more of a calculated investment. They’re letting one of the best basketball players in the world steer their basketball line as they move forward. And when it works, the rest of the industry will follow suit.
Watch our new Sneaker Unboxing video series, Special Delivery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf1ugultSr8
[mm-video type=video id=01f5gj0m7cagmxqn9j52 playlist_id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f5gj0m7cagmxqn9j52/01f5gj0m7cagmxqn9j52-ee0c5acc292c231a12337ee9f9b89a3f.jpg]