It came as a shock to almost everyone in the basketball world when Steph Curry announced he was ending his 13-year run with Under Armour and taking the Curry Brand independent. At the time, many believed the split was tied to Under Armour’s failure to land Caitlin Clark. But fresh intel now suggests the real turning point was their inability to sign Azzi Fudd.

How does Steph Curry know Azzi Fudd?

Azzi Fudd first met Steph Curry in 2018 at his Select Camp, where she was one of only two women invited — the other being Cameron Brink. It was an early sign of just how highly Steph thought of her. That year’s camp was packed with future NBA first-rounders like Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, Precious Achiuwa and R.J. Hampton.

Fudd impressed everyone at the camp by winning the three-point contest. After that, she even went up against Steph and his father, Dell, in a shooting challenge. She didn’t win, according to The Washington Post, but Curry told her right then that she’d be coming back the following year. That moment marked the start of their relationship, and the two stayed in touch all the way until she was ready to enter college.

That’s when SC30 Inc., the umbrella company behind all of Curry’s ventures, signed Fudd to an NIL deal as a freshman at UConn. It came at a time when the NCAA changed its rules under pressure from new state laws to allow college athletes to earn money through NIL. Curry became the first NBA player to form this kind of partnership with a college player. Since then, Curry has been there every step of the way — as a mentor, an advocate, and a steady supporter through her rise.

But according to Sole Retriever, despite years of reports and the widespread belief that Fudd had a deal with the Curry Brand or Under Armour, she has never been under contract with either.

Azzi Fudd Was a Key Factor in Stephen Curry’s Under Armour Exit

While cross-checking the list of athletes on Under Armour’s official website, Azzi Fudd’s name was nowhere to be found. And that’s exactly why the upcoming Sole Retriever report might end up being completely true.

According to the report, Steph viewed Fudd as a cornerstone athlete for the next chapter of Curry Brand and pushed hard for her behind the scenes. To him, she represented the future of the game and the exact values he wanted the brand to reflect. But Under Armour never took the next step toward offering her a contract.

Multiple people close to the situation told them ( Sole Retriever ) that it genuinely frustrated Curry that the company wouldn’t pursue Fudd, despite how consistently he pushed for her as a must-sign athlete.

It was also strange to see Curry Brand announce Milaysia Fulwiley as its first collegiate NIL athlete while Azzi remained only under the SC30 umbrella. So even though there’s no official confirmation that Fudd not joining Curry Brand was the reason Steph walked away from Under Armour, it definitely feels like it could have played a part in his unexpected exit.

Why did Stephen Curry leave Under Armour? What We Know

After the game against the Spurs — where the greatest showman the sport has ever seen showed up in Nike Kobe 6 “Mambacita” — Curry explained that the split was a “mutual business decision.” He also revealed that he owns his logo, IP, marks, and everything tied to his brand, and will be taking all of it with him moving forward.

“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.” Curry said in the statement released through Under Armour. “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.”

While it may have been framed as a mutual decision, the idea that this was a clean and simple exit doesn’t really hold up. One source quoted by Sole Retriever even laughed at that narrative, calling it “total bullsh-t.” At this point, there are too many credible reports pointing to a combination of factors behind the split.

According to Bloomberg, one of the biggest and now widely accepted reasons behind Stephen Curry’s break from Under Armour was the company’s inability to sign Caitlin Clark.

The four-time NBA champion pushed hard to bring her into the Curry Brand, viewing her as a generational talent who could elevate everything he was building. But Under Armour’s offer — a 4-year, $16 million deal — wasn’t enough to land her. Nike came in with an 8-year, $28 million contract and the promise of a signature shoe, and Clark ultimately chose to join their roster.

But there’s another major factor at play: Under Armour’s finances are struggling. The company’s stock has fallen 47.3 percent over the past year and is now hovering near its 52-week low of $4.17. In August, Under Armour reported a four percent drop in projected revenue for the first quarter of the 2026 fiscal year. That resulted in a net loss of nearly $19 million on $1.33 billion in revenue, according to Forbes.

“Despite ongoing uncertainty, our brand is gaining strength and we’re executing our strategic plan with clarity and confidence,” Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, said in an August news release. Unfortunately, Curry was not part of this restructuring plan from the CEO. The Curry Brand made up only about 2 percent of Under Armour’s total revenue and was down at least 50 percent from its peak, making it an easy piece for the company to cut loose.

Steph Curry also tried to recruit Sabrina Ionescu to sign with the Curry Brand

Losing out on Azzi Fudd and Caitlin Clark isn’t the only setback the Curry Brand has faced lately. Recently, Curry was spotted wearing the Nike Sabrina 3 “Clay Green” against the Utah Jazz with Sabrina Ionescu in the building. After the game, the only unanimous MVP in league history admitted that he had actually tried to sign her to the Curry Brand as well.

“We have a long history. She’s from the Bay and just following her career. And there was a time when she was coming out of school, that I was trying to get her to Curry Brand. It’s hard to get an Oregon Duck to leave Nike,” Curry said.

For those who may not know, no school in the United States is closer to Nike than the University of Oregon. Nike’s headquarters is in Beaverton, Oregon, and its founder, Phil Knight, earned his Bachelor of Business Administration there. As an alumnus, Knight has poured more than $1 billion into the university and its athletics program, creating a connection that’s basically unmatched anywhere else.

So getting Sabrina out of Nike was basically an impossible deal.

It’s sad that the relationship between Curry and Under Armour had to end so abruptly. His decision to sign with UA over Nike back in 2013 was considered one of the biggest upsets in the sports marketing world. He proved to everyone that a basketball superstar could thrive off the court without a Nike deal. He brought Under Armour to heights they’d never reached before, and it’s tough to see an incredible 13-year partnership come to an end like this.

Curry is now basically a “free agent” in the sneaker world. Where do you think he signs next? Let us know in the comments below!