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The greatest athletes always have a brand name attached to them, and for more than a decade, Steph Curry’s has been Under Armour, but that all ends now.
The Golden State Warriors lifer now has a scheduled end date for his UA partnership, next year, after the Curry 13 drops in February 2026, with more colorways and merch to match available through October 2026.
It doesn’t mean the end of Curry’s line, though, because in 2020, he developed a subsidiary under Under Armour, dubbed Curry Brand, which focused on developing the younger generation’s interest in sports by investing in youth sports and underserved basketball programs.
Curry’s very appreciative of the space UA has allowed him to carve out after giving him a chance, and with that foundation, he’s excited to see what he can pull off in this new iteration.
“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. I’ll always be grateful for that,” Curry said in a statement. “Curry Brand was created to change the game for good and over the past five years, we successfully changed the game for kids, for communities, and for basketball. What Curry Brand stands for, what I stand for and my commitment to that mission will never change, it’s only growing stronger. I’m excited for a future that’s focused on aggressive growth with a continued commitment to keep showing up for the next generation.”
The breakup comes during a critical time in UA’s path, as they’re undergoing a costly restructuring plan that will reportedly cost them $255 million. Their stock is down nearly 50% in the past year, and they’ve had three different CEOs since 2020. But after stepping down at the end of 2019, founder Kevin Plank is back in the role and ready to right the ship, which he thinks begins with cutting ties with Curry.
“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.”
This marks the first time Curry has been a sneaker free agent since 2013, as he looks to either go fully independent or find a home with one of the other big brands like Nike —which he endorsed earlier in his career— adidas, Reebok, or New Balance.
He hasn’t made a clear choice yet, but ahead of Friday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, he was spotted rocking Nike Kobe 6 “Mambacita” in warmups.
Curry switched back to his Under Armour kicks for the game and went off for 46 points in the 125-120 loss.
After the game, he talked about his shoe choice, saying he “wanted to take advantage in that moment to be tribute” to Kobe Bryant.
He did, however, clarify that he’s still a free agent in the sneaker world, and is ready to embark on “new beginnings.”
See social media’s reaction to the business split below.
