Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark played an indirect role in Stephen Curry’s departure from Under Armour, according to Bloomberg’s Kim Bhasin and Randall Williams.
The Golden State Warriors guard helped the company’s pitch to Clark when she was mulling over her first pro sneaker deal. She ultimately picked Nike, and Bhasin and Williams reported that Curry was disappointed in Under Armour’s failure to seal the deal.
That exacerbated existing concerns from the two-time NBA MVP and his representatives, who “became frustrated by what they viewed as underinvestment” (via Sports Business Journal).
The sneaker business isn’t as robust as it was a few years ago, and look no further than Nike’s overall revenue numbers to see that. Even Jordan Brand is losing some of the luster it once possessed.
Women’s basketball is a significant area of potential growth thanks to being ignored by major apparel companies for a decade. Eleven years passed between Adidas’ final iteration of Candace Parker’s “Ace” line and Breanna Stewart’s first shoe with Puma.
Sabrina Ionescu, A’ja Wilson, Angel Reese and Jacy Sheldon have since debuted signature kicks, and there’s still a lot of room to keep going.
Nobody was a bigger fish than Clark, thanks to the popularity she built in college at Iowa. Winning Rookie of the Year and being a first-team All-WNBA honoree in 2024 only caused her image to grow after she aligned with Nike.
Sneaker insider Nick DePaula estimated to Front Office Sports in July that Clark’s first shoe could be worth $100 million to the company. That would be a pretty sizable return on what was reported to be a $28 million endorsement contract.
It’s easy to see why Curry was so dispirited at Under Armour’s failure to convince Clark. Beyond the raw dollars, the move would’ve symbolized a renewed commitment to basketball on a big scale.
The Bloomberg piece pointed out that San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum and LSU junior MiLaysia Fulwiley are Under Armour athletes. The company isn’t folding up its basketball division altogether.
Still, Under Armour might be ruing its failed pursuit of Clark given the domino effect it caused.
