22-year-old Brittney Griner, the number one pick in the WNBA draft this year, new Phoenix Mercury player and someone you will instantly like after seeing this picture, has become the first out-and-proud athlete to be signed to an endorsement deal by Nike.


The supergiant sportswear company has been making strides towards this for the last two years, when they first began to host an LGBT sports summit at their Portland headquarters. Awesome! Not to mention lucrative for Nike, who's trying to tap into the LGBT buying power in America (which, according to Gay Star News, is upward of $800 billion). Accordingly, since she's the first of her kind, Griner's deal — while numbers haven't emerged yet — is a crazy well-paid one. (Griner: "It's big-time, let's just say that.")

Just two weeks after March Madness, Griner came out on the national level in an interview with Sports Illustrated. "“I’ve always been open about who I am and my sexuality. It wasn’t hard at all. If I can show that I’m out and I’m fine, then hopefully the younger generation will feel the same way."


'Openly Gay Female Baller Gets Nike Endorsement Deal' [Cosmopolitan]

'Britney Griner Becomes First Gay Athlete To Sign With Nike' [South Florida Gay News]