The $1 billion man? Warriors star Steph Curry nearing lifetime deal with Under Armour

Curry left Nike for the upstart company in 2013. According to reporter Ethan Sherwood Strauss, Nike was disinterested, mispronouncing his name as “Steph-On” during a pitch meeting and accidentally reusing slides featuring Kevin Durant’s name.

When Nike refused to match Under Armour’s offer of roughly $4 million per year, Curry became UA’s most prominent NBA athlete. Immediately afterward, Curry ascended to superstardom, making his first All-Star team in 2014 and winning consecutive MVPs in 2015 and 2016. As Curry took off as a player, so did Under Armour’s basketball business. By 2016, Curry's shoe sales were second only to Michael Jordan's.

It’s a unique situation for a shoe brand, because Curry is not a conventionally cool or dominant athlete. He’s small for a basketball superstar, and his shoes and fashion choices are often mercilessly roasted on Twitter.

Those universally mocked Curry Chiefs were nonetheless popular with consumers, selling out in a month. Curry may not be cool, but he’s relatable and very good at basketball. If you don’t happen to be 6-foot-8 and ridiculously muscular, it’s more realistic to aspire to be Curry than LeBron James, and Under Armour sales — which rise and fall with Curry’s success and failures — reflect that.

Curry has clashed with Under Armour over former CEO Kevin Plank’s support of Donald Trump and a perceived lack of support for his shoes. In response, Curry got his own line of apparel, “Curry Brand," in 2020. It's akin to Jordan’s “Jordan Brand” with Nike, which brings in over $5 billion annually.

Now Curry is likely to tie himself to the company with a deal estimated to be in the billion-dollar range, comparable to the lifetime contract LeBron signed with Nike in 2015, which ESPN reported was worth more than $30 million per year.