Courtesy-Sky Sports
Stephen Curry was not anticipated to become the worldwide celebrity that he is now when he first entered the NBA. Furthermore, he was plagued by serious ankle ailments in the early stages of his career, which was a major source of concern for the Warriors at the time.
Regardless, Steph Curry has been a Nike Athlete from the start of his career. In fact, he remained loyal to the organization until the season before he won his first MVP award. Unfortunately, Nike believed the myth that Curry was nothing more than potential and let him walk away after a terrible pitch meeting.
Headed to Practice at #nike Campus in Beaverton.
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) October 18, 2012
Why did Stephen Curry decide to quit Nike?
Nike’s encounter with Stephen Curry is likely to haunt them to this day. The contract was doomed from the start when Nike misspelled Curry’s name in the presentation, writing “Steph-on” instead of Stephen.
The pitch became much worse when it included a PowerPoint presentation with Kevin Durant’s name on it. The gaffe plainly indicated that Nike was not interested in re-signing the eventual two-time MVP. Dell Curry, according to ESPN, had already decided to quit Nike at the presentation. He only offered his son Stephen one bit of advice: “Don’t be frightened to try anything new.”
As a result of these blunders, Under Armour swooped in and snatched Curry from under Nike’s nose. Curry is now the face of Under Armour, and he will earn roughly $20 million each year until 2024. Furthermore, Curry is slated to launch his own trademark shoe line, similar to the Jordan brand for Nike.
.@StephenCurry30 signs extension with @UnderArmour through 2024 http://t.co/t6wq5eq0S0 pic.twitter.com/HK5ZVDBGH9
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) September 16, 2015