Steph Curry Leaves Under Armour As Curry Brand Becomes a Free Agent

It’s not super uncommon for players to jump sneaker brands once or twice in their career, but most established superstars stay in one home. Especially if you have your own label and signed a lifetime deal. Sometimes things just don’t work out behind the scenes, as is likely the case with Steph Curry, who has announced he is leaving his partnership with Under Armour and taking Curry Brand into sneaker free agency.

Sources from Under Armour and Curry Brand have confirmed to Sole Retriever that Steph Curry will separate Curry Brand from Under Armour. Over the next 12 months, Curry and UA will be in a transition period, during which products will continue to be released, including the upcoming Under Armour Curry 13, scheduled for release in February 2026.

“It’s been an incredible privilege to work with Stephen, who as President of Curry Brand has been much more than an ambassador – he’s become a thoughtful and strategic business leader,” said Kevin Plank, Founder and CEO of Under Armour. “We’ll always be grateful for what he’s brought to the UA team.”

Originally signing with Under Armour in 2013, Steph dropped his first sneaker, the Under Armour Curry 1, in 2015. Fast forward to 2020, and Curry announced the creation of Curry Brand, a sub-label of Under Armour akin to Jordan Brand with Nike. Three years later in 2023, Under Armour announced a lifetime deal with Steph that was reportedly worth over $1 billion.

“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,” said Stephen Curry. “Curry Brand was created to change the game for good and over the past 5 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 most recent release to come from Curry Brand is the Under Armour Curry Series 7, a sneaker that Steph has described as “the best basketball shoe I’ve ever worn.”

He has also signed multiple athletes under Curry Brand, including De’Aaron Fox, Jacob Zhu, Davion Mitchell, Quincy Olivari, and Keisei Tominaga. Fox is the only athlete not named Steph Curry who has their own signature model under Curry Brand, the Curry Fox. He’s currently on his second sneaker, the Fox 2. Under Armour representatives confirmed with Sole Retriever that "right now, all Curry Brand athletes remain under contract with UA."

As a free agent, Steph Curry and Curry Brand will have the ability to sign with any sneaker brand on the planet. Prior to joining Under Armour, Nike notoriously fumbled Curry after they botched a meeting with the superstar in 2013. They offered Steph $2.5 million compared to Under Armour’s $4 million and the guarantee of a signature sneaker. They also mispronounced his name (Stephon instead of Stephen) and reused a PowerPoint slide with Kevin Durant’s name. Fun fact: Nico Harrison, who the Dallas Mavericks recently fired, served as Vice President of Nike Basketball’s North American operations during this time and was in the meeting.

We’ll have to wait and see what develops over the next 12 months with Steph Curry and his Curry Brand. There’s no word on where he wants to take the brand, and perhaps he’ll try to remain independent, but again, that’s all just speculation. For more updates on the latest happenings in the sneaker world, download the Sole Retriever mobile app.

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