Revealing the inside story of Curry’s breakup with Under Armor: Dissatisfied with its lack of investment, Clark’s offer was lower than Nike’s to recruit

On November 25, a number of media followed up and reported on the breakup of Curry and Under Armor, revealing the inside story of the end of the cooperation between the two parties. The specific reports are as follows -

According to Bloomberg News reporters Bassin and Williams citing sources, Curry and his team were dissatisfied with Under Armor's insufficient investment. In addition, the sales of the brand's basketball string did not meet the expectations of the company and Curry, and the two parties finally jointly decided to terminate the partnership.

Sources revealed that a major pain point for Curry was Under Armor's performance last year when it recruited Fever guard Kaitlin Clark to join his personal brand. Curry and the company had fully pursued this talented player, but Under Armor's offer was lower than Nike's total amount.

After Under Armor founder and CEO Kevin Plank returned to the helm in early 2024, it was reported that Curry originally hoped that Plank would increase investment in his personal product line. According to the termination agreement, Curry and Under Armor still have unfinished cooperation matters: the company will launch the last Curry signature shoe in February.

Now, Curry provides a rare cooperation opportunity for the world's top sports brands. Industry sources said that with the release of this potential cooperation opportunity, mainstream basketball brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma are bound to take the initiative to contact him. However, sources pointed out that Curry has not yet discussed potential new cooperation agreements with any sports shoe brands. Future negotiations could be slightly awkward for Nike — the brand has botched opportunities with Curry in the past. Despite this, Nike still dominates basketball and has signed many of the sport's top athletes. At the same time, Adidas has also made significant progress on the court.

San Francisco reporter Danny Emerman wrote that since his contract with Under Armor expired, Curry has used pre-game warm-ups as an opportunity to test other brands, have fun and pay tribute to classics. Experts have listed several potential paths for Curry: a highly unlikely reunion with Nike; signing with second-tier brands with basketball businesses such as Adidas and New Balance; partnering with Chinese brands; or maintaining the independence of Curry's brand. Lauren Anderson, director of the University of Oregon's Sports Business Center in Warsaw, said the least likely scenario is that Curry runs the Curry brand alone.

Industry experts also believe that it is unrealistic for Nike to be the next player - the brand occupies more than 80% of the basketball shoe market and does not need Curry like other brands seeking rapid improvement. Adidas or New Balance may be a more natural fit; Chinese brands Anta and Li-Ning may be able to provide Curry with the most generous upfront offers. If Curry follows the model of tennis star Roger Federer’s partnership with On, he may choose a relatively niche brand—even one that has not yet entered the basketball field. In addition, there are rumors that Puma may be sold; perhaps the Curry brand can help it increase its value and revive its reputation.

ANDSCAPE reporter Alan Dodson pointed out that Curry’s total NBA career income has exceeded US$470 million (including a salary of US$59.6 million in the 2025-26 season). In theory, he has the financial resources to support all or most of the operating costs of his sports shoe business. If the future Hall of Famer decides to let the Curry brand operate independently, he will join Celtics forward Jaylen Brown and Magic forward Jonathan Isaac as the only players in the NBA who design, produce and promote their own signature basketball shoes - with their brands owned, funded and operated by themselves.

GQ reporter Trey Dean wrote that Curry should have had a better situation in the field of sneakers. It has to be said that Under Armor’s Curry signature shoes are not cool: the performance technology has always been reliable, but the shoe design and color matching are mostly mediocre, even ugly, and barely reflect Curry’s charismatic personal characteristics and kingly style on the court. It is no exaggeration to say that Curry and his Under Armor product line may be the largest gap in the sports world between an athlete's reputation on the field and the reputation of his personal signature shoes. Most of Curry's generation of NBA superstars have caught up with the weakest era in the history of signature shoes - brands such as Nike, Adidas, Under Armor, etc. have all performed quite poorly in creating sneakers that reflect the talent and charm of these players.