Why Stephen Curry’s Under Armour Partnership Fell Apart

Stephen Curry is now a sneaker free agent after his deal with Under Armour ended. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)

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Stephen Curry and Under Armour made their breakup official on Nov. 13, announcing that a decade-plus partnership had ended. Fans of the Golden State Warriors superstar received quite the visual confirmation of that news the next evening when, for the first time in over a decade, Curry walked onto an NBA floor for pregame shootaround in something other than his signature shoe from UA, instead donning a pair of Nike Kobe shoes. While Curry did play in his UA signatures in San Antonio, Curry had made his statement: He was a sneaker free agent.

What started in 2013—and really got going with Curry’s first two signature models both releasing in 2015—has ended, with the Baltimore-based brand and NBA player jointly announcing the termination of the partnership. Curry is now free to pursue his own sneaker deal and takes his Curry Brand in tow, punctuating UA’s brand repositioning away from superstar athletes.

Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, said that “for Under Armour, this moment is about discipline and focus on the core UA brand during a critical stage of our turnaround.”

It all comes as UA continues what it calls a “restructuring plan.” With revenues still declining at UA—the most recent results announced Sept. 30 showed a net loss of nearly $19 million on revenue of $1.33 billion and the quarter before that showing a 4% decline—Plank has a plan in place. It’s one that doesn’t include Curry. “Moving ahead,” he said in August, “we’re focused on strengthening our brand positioning with premium products and increasing our average selling prices through innovative offerings, optimizing our top-volume programs and creating more compelling full, price-to-value proposition.”

Spending on a fledgling basketball signature sneaker doesn’t seem to fit the model. Curry and Under Armour signed to much fanfare in 2013 and in January 2015 the two released the Curry One sneaker. By fall 2015 the Curry Two already hit the market. As Curry rose to stardom by winning four NBA Championships and two NBA MVPs, the initial launch of his shoe helped give Under Armour a stronghold in the market as a disrupter against the behemoth Nike.

The initial spark didn’t have staying power, as the Curry franchise lacked cultural cache and never grabbed the slice of the sneaker culture—as seen by lackluster resale value—Under Armour hoped for. In 2025, the estimated $100 million-plus annually the partnership brings in for Under Armour is a relatively insignificant piece of the overall brand’s portfolio and shows a continuing decline in value, especially as UA aims to reposition itself away from a discount brand. In contrast, Nike’s Jordan Brand brought in $7.6 billion in 2025, although that still represented a 16% drop.

Under Armour already hinted at its move away from partnerships in 2020, ending agreements with multiple university athletic programs. With the Curry portfolio an estimated 2% of total revenue for the brand and down at least 50% from its peak according to WWD.com, the May 2024 restructuring plan that includes contract terminations continues to take shape.

UA will still sell its current collection of Curry product, even planning a February 2026 release of the Curry 13, with additional colorways and apparel collections available through October 2026.

When the Curry Brand launched in 2020, the two groups hoped it would buoy the partnership by propelling Curry-led products into new spaces, such as golf and lifestyle. Curry will retain ownership of his namesake business, although now without a brand’s backing.

“Under Armour believed in me early in my career and gave me the space to build something much bigger and more impactful than a shoe,” Curry said in a statement. “I’ll always be grateful for that.”

But belief wasn’t enough to get the culture on board long-term and create sales. Nick Engvall, a sneaker consultant, wrote on Substack UA managed to make Curry uncool. That included his footwear.

Now the two cooly part ways.

“This move lets two strong teams do what they do best,” Plank said. “Under Armour is focused on product innovation and performance for athletes at every level. Curry Brand gets the independence to determine its own future. That’s good for Stephen and good for UA.”