Nico Harrison might just deserve the unofficial “What If?” crown of sports marketing blunders. Sure, everyone’s still obsessing over Dallas and Luka’s possibility, but the other classic: what if Stephen Curry hadn’t walked out on Nike 13 years ago? Back then, Harrison, a young sports marketing exec, reportedly butchered Curry’s name, “Steph-on,” they say (he denies it), and made a few more missteps that somehow cracked open the door for Curry to bail to Under Armour. Fast forward, and Curry’s ghosting Under Armour too, but don’t worry, this time it’s not because someone mangled his name.

On his podcast, Draymond Green spoke about the possibility that Curry never weighed when with Under Armour, which ultimately led him to make this decision.

“You know, when you look at the Under Armour deal, I think it’s been great for him over the last 13 years. I think he has had some challenges over the years. Uh, be that the company isn’t a well-oiled machine like Nike or even Adidas for that matter…So I will be very interested to see what happens next. It makes you take a step back and wonder what would his business be today had he gone to Nike or stayed with Nike, right?”

Green continued, “Like if Steph Curry stayed with Nike and became the Steph Curry that he was going to become, regardless of what shoe brand he was in and he was building the Curry brand under Nike, alla Jordan, alla LeBron James, alla Kevin Durant, guys who have built brands with Nike. What if Steph was building that brand at Nike? You can only wonder how huge that would have been.”

Picture this: 1984. Michael Jordan is a rookie looking for a sneaker home. Adidas says “nah,” near-bankrupt Nike says “sure, why not,” and suddenly the sneaker world gets flipped on its head. Jordan’s first Nike deal? A modest $500,000 over five years. 

Fast-forward a year, and Air Jordan sales explode to $126 million in 1985. By 2034, Jordan, then 70, could be sitting on a cool $5.2 billion, thanks in large part to Nike’s savvy and the Air Jordan juggernaut. That’s the power of the right shoe deal at the right time.

LeBron James? Oh, he didn’t miss the memo. Signed a 7-year, $87 million deal with Nike in 2003 (Reebok tried to bribe him with $115 million, Adidas threw in $60 million and a sad shrug). LeBron eventually locked in a lifetime $1 billion contract. Kevin Durant? Ironically, Nike outbid Under Armour and locked him into a 10-year, nearly $300 million deal in 2014. 

Meanwhile, Steph Curry? That “Steph-on” incident happened, he left, and the “what if” machine started churning. Under Armour swooped in for Curry in 2013, four years into his NBA career, and launched Curry Brand in 2020.

Bold move. Purpose-led, high-performance, a competitor to Jordan Brand, it looked good on paper. But here’s the kicker: Curry Brand revenue isn’t separated from Under Armour’s main numbers. 

Compare that to Jordan Brand, which in 2025 hit $6.6 billion on its own, separate from Nike’s $46 billion. And one of Jordan’s sneakiest smart moves? Settling for a 5% royalty on that Jumpman logo on Nike designs, a tiny slice that literally birthed sneaker culture.

In 2023, that same 5% earned him $330 million. That’s what Curry missed out on under UA: massive, standalone growth and control over the brand.

Curry stuck it out with Under Armour anyway. Loyal, gritty, committed, just like Green described on his podcast: the company wasn’t a “well-oiled machine” like Nike or Adidas, but Curry stayed, grinding through 13 years of corporate hiccups.

However, Stephen Curry has also given Under Armour their flowers—giving him a chance saying: “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.”

He emphasized that his commitment to what Curry Brand stands for will never change, highlighting the importance of the opportunity UA provided him to grow beyond just footwear.

This partnership was meaningful to Curry as it enabled him to push his standards of greatness both on and off the court, allowing the brand and his personal mission to thrive together.

Luckily, now, post-split, Curry owns everything: his name, his brand, trademarks, IP, the works. So here’s the delicious “what if”: What if Steph stayed with Nike back in 2010?

He could have been in the same league as Jordan, LeBron, and Durant, not just in legacy but in raw numbers. Lifetime contracts, independent revenue streams, global sneaker domination. 

Lucky for Curry, though, now it’s all his sandbox. This time he calls all the shots with his brand after the split with the UA.

Curry’s next step: Flying solo or joining the sneaker wars?

Stephen Curry’s split from Under Armour didn’t happen in a vacuum. While the headlines focus on his desire for independence, the financial shake-up at UA tells the real story: the company expanded its 2025 restructuring plan, tacked on an extra $95 million in cuts, and set projections that put Curry Brand’s 2026 revenue at a modest $100–$120 million.

Add contract terminations, asset write-downs, and employee severance, and it’s clear the move was as much about dollars as destiny.

Curry himself sounded steady and mission-driven, saying his vision for Curry Brand isn’t changing, it’s just growing stronger.“What Curry Brand stands for, what I stand for and my commitment to that mission will never change, it’s only growing stronger,” Curry said post-split.

With the brand now independent, Curry is officially free to chart his own course, and he didn’t waste a second showing up in Kobe 6 Protro sneakers during his first warm-ups post-UA.

The final Curry Brand x Under Armour shoe, the Curry 13, will still hit shelves next year, but beyond that, Steph’s holding all the cards.

Of course, brands are circling like sharks. Nike could rekindle their old flame. Adidas, with its “family first” approach and rising stars like Anthony Edwards, looks promising.

Puma, New Balance, and even unconventional choices like On or Hoka could enter the mix, though the latter two are wildcards at best. Then there’s the ultimate wild card, Curry running the show solo, fully independent.