Steph Curry's Breakup with Under Armour Was NOT Only Because of Caitlin Clark

Steph Curry’s breakup from Under Armour is something that will surely be studied by business analysts, especially in the footwear world, for years to come. With it being so fresh, there are still plenty of unanswered questions and behind-the-scenes details that have yet to come to light (and may never). One thing is for certain: Caitlin Clark signing with Nike was NOT the reason for the decade-plus-long partnership ending.

According to multiple sources close to the situation, it’s "absolutely insane” to say Caitlin Clark not signing with Under Armour or Curry Brand was the reason for Steph leaving UA. The source also mentioned, “While not signing Caitlin was a point of frustration, it was NOT at all the straw that broke the camel’s back.” Social media began to run wild with this story, but where is it all coming from?

First, Bloomberg published an article on November 21 that detailed the split between Curry Brand and Under Armour. In it, they mention “people familiar with the matter” noted a sore point for Steph was the attempt to recruit Caitlin Clark to join Curry Brand. “Under Armour’s offer trailed the total value of Nike’s pitch,” they continued.

The WNBA superstar, who is set to get her own signature sneaker in the near future, signed an NIL deal with Nike in 2022 during her college days, but agreed to an eight-year $28 million extension in April 2024. Under Armour reportedly offered her $16 million over a four-year period.

While the Bloomberg article doesn’t explicitly state it was the only reason, a post on X by Sports Business Journal that went up on November 24 (which was removed prior to the publishing of this article) stated, “What was behind Steph Curry's decision to part ways with Under Armour? According to @business, Curry grew frustrated with UA’s lack of investment in his brand and a failed bid to sign Caitlin Clark.” The outlet's article quotes Bloomberg directly, which does not state it’s the sole reason, but the wording on X leaves it open to the interpretation that this is THE reason for the breakup — and led to the spread of the false, clickbait headline.

It's a much more complicated situation than just a single missed signing. Under Armour is in the midst of a restructuring after multiple quarters of poor financial performance, and they’re looking to trim the fat from the brand. The brand’s stock is down nearly 70% in the last five years, and they want to focus on the “core UA brand.”

Alongside this, in 2024, CEO and founder Kevin Plank spoke to Bloomberg, stating Under Armour hasn’t “done a good enough job yet telling Steph his story through the Curry brand.” Basketball just isn’t something that UA is super focused on, and it was quite obvious.

Even with the negativity surrounding UA, both Kevin Plank and Steph Curry spoke in a positive manner about the breakup. Curry was quoted, “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.” Plank expressed, “We’ll always be grateful for what he’s brought to the UA team.”

Again, while the failure to sign Caitlin Clark certainly played some factor in Curry’s decision to agree to part ways from a lifetime contract with Under Armour, to say it's the sole reason is not the truth. We may never get all the intricate details of what went on in the meetings that led to the split, but we’ll most certainly be keeping watch on Steph’s next move. He’s continuing to wear a variety of sneaker brands, including Nike, Li-Ning, and Reebok, but there’s no sign he’s anywhere close to reaching a new deal with another sportswear brand.

Nicholas Vlahos

Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. When not writing for Sole Retriever, I enjoy attending concerts and catching the latest movies. Email: nick@soleretriever.com