By Weston Blasi
Curry likely made $300 million with Under Armour. Can his next move match Roger Federer's post-Nike success?
Steph Curry's break from Under Armour shows how far the latter's brand has fallen - and how much the NBA star is betting on himself.
Stephen Curry is betting on himself again - and this time, it's with his shoes.
The Golden State Warriors legend announced last week that he and Under Armour (UAA) have mutually parted ways, ending a 13-year agreement that propelled the apparel brand into the basketball zeitgeist like never before. His departure coincides with Under Armour retreating from the basketball market amid struggles for the company's stock price.
With the split finalized, Curry will retain rights to the &#34;Curry Brand,&#34; a subdivision within Under Armour, and he intends to take it forward independently, which could include teaming with another retail partner.
In his first game since the announcement, Curry wore a pair of Nike Kobe shoes during his warmup for the Warriors-Spurs game on Friday.
When the game started, he switched back to the Curry 12 Under Armour shoes that he normally wears.
After the game Curry said, &#34;I'm a [sneaker] free agent. New beginnings.&#34;
See: WNBA players want more money - and stars like Napheesa Collier and Caitlin Clark are calling out the league commissioner to get it
Curry and Under Armour once seemed like the perfect match. Curry was an undersized underdog from Davidson College, and Under Armour was trying to disrupt the other big sports-apparel retailers like Nike (NKE) and Adidas (XE:ADS) (ADDYY).
An individual basketball-sneaker line can produce billions of dollars in revenue. NBA superstars like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Curry have made nearly as much off-court revenue as on-court earnings, thanks in part to their sneaker lines - but success stories have almost always come alongside a deep-pocketed partner.
Curry's deal with Under Armour catapulted him to the top of highest earners in all of sports. His initial deal with the company in 2013 was valued at a reported $4 million a year, and subsequent Under Armour partnerships for $215 million and $75 million in stock put his total lifetime earnings with the company at around $300 million.
But moving a sneaker line from a well-known brand like Under Armour to an independent one will be tricky.
&#34;The U.S. market has massive competition with behemoth brands like Nike and Adidas, whose marketing budgets easily eclipse anything an independent brand could produce,&#34; sneaker-content creator David Daniels, who goes by SneakerPhetish on social media, told MarketWatch. &#34;If Curry Brand goes independent, it will be a steep hill to climb.&#34;
Daniels also noted that research and development for basketball shoes is expensive, making it even more difficult for smaller industry players to stay afloat.
&#34;It will be very expensive to try to be an independent brand,&#34; agreed Matt Powell, a sports-retail expert at consultancy Spurwink River.
Industry insiders suggest that perhaps the better play would be for Curry to team up with another brand that is already making shoes and license his Curry Brand to them, rather than try to get into the expensive shoe-manufacturing business.
&#34;I would hope to see him align with a brand like Adidas or even an overseas brand like Anta (HK:2020) (ANPDY), home of Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson,&#34; Daniels said.
See: The NBA exec who traded superstar Luka Doncic cost the team $100 million in franchise value
An athlete leaving a major brand sponsorship to go independent can be risky - but that risk sometimes comes with great rewards.
Tennis legend Roger Federer ended his 24-year partnership with Nike in 2018 after the company reportedly declined to renew his contract. He then signed a massive $300 million, 10-year deal with Uniqlo (JP:9983) (FRCOY), which likely paid him much more than his earnings at Nike, though the exact terms were not reported.
The move away from Nike meant that Federer lost the rights to his iconic &#34;RF&#34; logo, but it still gave him huge postretirement earnings.
Additionally, since Uniqlo wasn't selling shoes, it also allowed him the freedom to acquire an equity stake in the running-shoe company On (ONON), which later went public on the New York Stock Exchange - turning Federer's $50 million investment into $500 million, per The Boardroom.
But perhaps the best comparison to Curry is golfer Tiger Woods, who left Nike in 2024 and abandoned his &#34;TW&#34; logo to start Sun Day Red with TaylorMade Golf. The brand is new and sells premium products like $150 golf polos, and its success is yet to be determined.
From the archives: When LeBron James chose Nike in 2003, he gave up $28 million - it could end up making him $1 billion
In a release announcing its split with Curry, Under Armour said it wanted to focus on its &#34;core&#34; business instead. The move comes at an uncertain time for Under Armour, which has seen its stock fall more than 50% over the last 12 months.
&#34;I think this decision shows Under Armour's inability to connect with teen males,&#34;  retail expert Powell told MarketWatch. &#34;Under Armour stated that the basketball business was $100 million to $120 million. Assuming that most of that was Curry, this is a tiny business.&#34;
The Curry 13, Under Armour's final Curry Brand shoe, is slated for a February 2026 release. Further colorways and associated apparel collections will be made available through October 2026.
But photos and videos of Curry wearing his Under Armour shoes during his five championship runs - and in countless battles with LeBron James - will outlast the partnership.
His Warriors teammate Draymond Green posted about the move, saying Curry &#34;built an incredible brand, an incredible line, had people wearing Under Armours like they were cool.&#34;
Before Curry, he added, &#34;no one was wearing Under Armour in basketball.&#34;
Read on: NBA's Rozier, Billups arrested in 'brazen sports corruption' probe as leagues confront illegal betting by players
-Weston Blasi
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11-17-25 1336ET

<p>Steph Curry has parted ways with Under Armour after a 13-year partnership, retaining rights to the "Curry Brand". He plans to move forward independently, possibly teaming with another retail partner. Curry's departure highlights Under Armour's struggles in the basketball market. Industry experts suggest partnering with established brands like Adidas for better success, as going independent is risky and costly.</p>

Steph Curry just wore a pair of Nikes. 'I'm a free agent,' he said, about what shoes he'll wear next.