In a rather shocking development in the shoe and apparel world, Stephen Curry and Under Armour announced Thursday they are going their separate ways.
The Golden State Warriors star has been with the company for more than a decade, but, according to the announcement, Under Armour will now “develop new UA Basketball products and continue to support athletes and programs across every level of the game.”
The Curry 13s will still be released in February 2026 as the final Curry Brand shoe to be released under the partnership. Additional colorways will be available through October 2026.
“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. “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.”
While Curry Brand launched in 2020 as an extension of the partnership, the future Hall of Famer has been with Under Armour for much longer.
He joined Under Armour in 2013 and signed a long-term extension with the company in 2023 that made him the president of Curry Brand housed under Under Armour. According to CNBC, part of that latest extension gave him 8.8 million Under Armour common shares that were valued at $75 million at the time.
Curry was previously with Nike before the 2013 deal, but he became the face of Under Armour’s basketball portfolio and one of the most famous athletes in the world while wearing its shoes.
All of his four championships, two MVPs and two scoring titles happened while he was wearing Under Armour shoes. It reached a point that he almost became synonymous with the brand itself, at least when it came to basketball.
But now he is a sneaker free agent and will surely command quite the deal even at 37 years old.
The Curry Brand is already established, and he remains a fan favorite across the league.
It is easy to speculate that he will join Nike. After all, he was already with the apparel giant prior to his Under Armour deal, and the company is familiar with how to maximize its relationships with megastars.
Michael Jordan and LeBron James are just two of the many NBA stars who have famously been with Nike, and Curry would be the latest headliner to join the fold.
Yet CNBC noted “these days, even industry leaders like Nike are struggling to hold on to their market share in the face of upstarts like On and Hoka, which have been wooing top athletes and winning over a new generation of customers.”
Perhaps Curry will once again go with a surprising choice like he did in 2013 and choose one of the upstart companies. He could be the major star instead of a major star if he joined a less-established company, just like he did in 2013.
For now, though, he is changing directions in a surprising move.
