Outside of just reaching the professional level, any athlete’s dream is to be sponsored by one of the athletic brands. Nike is the leading sports brand in America and having them sign you to a brand can make you a star. They have contracts with LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Tiger Woods, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Some of these players even signed lifetime deals with Nike.
But one of the top NBA players, Stephen Curry, chose not to sign with Nike and join the elite group of athletes. The reason why will make you wonder how Nike could be so stupid.
Signing Curry Should Have Been A No-Brainer
For Nike, it shouldn’t have been a hard decision to sign Steph Curry for a shoe deal. He already had many ties with the brand, including his godfather Greg Brink, who worked for Nike.
Curry also wore Nike shoes during his entire college career.
A clueless executive made a dumb mistake that cost millions
A Sure Thing
Upon being drafted 7th overall, it made all the sense in the world to lock up Curry with a deal.
In fact, no one doubted that Curry would be wearing swooshes on his shoe to start his NBA career.
They Managed To Snag Curry, But Only For Four Years
Nike isn’t the leading sports apparel in America for no reason, they know talent when they see it.
The brand ended up signing Stephen Curry to a four-year deal that would last until 2013. Coincidently, 2013 was the year Curry set the NBA on fire.
A Breakout Year In The Most Iconic Way
Curry scored a career-high 54 points at Madison Square Garden in 2013. He also set the single-season record for 3-pointers that year.
You could say it was his breakout year and he did it all while wearing Nike’s.
Curry Began Hearing Pitches From Other Brands
Once his contract with Nike was up, Curry was free to hear pitches from other brands.
But Nike still had the rights to match any offer that became available to Curry.
An Awkward Meeting
They set up a meeting with Curry and his father, former NBA player Dell Curry, at the Oakland Marriott. That’s the same building that the Warriors practice in.
Curry admitted it was a bit awkward to hear a pitch from someone he was already signed to.
Nike Has An Interesting Way Of Ranking Athletes Athletes
Nike’s structuring is unique. They have what you call a tier of athletes, with the top tiered players receiving special treatment.
These athletes included Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James.
But How Did Curry Measure Up?
Right from the start of the presentation, even Dell Curry understood that his son wasn’t in the top tier of players for Nike. In fact, he wasn’t even close.
That was already an interesting sign for Curry even though he had been with the brand for years.
The Pitch Went From Bad To Worse
Sadly, Nike’s presentation was poorly given. They made it seem like Curry was only an afterthought in their plans as they already had three major stars on board.
Then they did something Curry and his father couldn’t forget.
The Person Pitching Curry Mis-Pronounced His Name
Curry’s father said the first sign of disrespect was when Nike “accidentally” mispronounced Curry’s first name. Instead of calling him Steph-En, they referred to him as Steph-On.
And then to make things worse, no one in the room corrected the man who did it!
They Fatally Undervalued Steph
As the meeting continued, it became crystal clear that Nike didn’t value Curry as much as their other athletes.
He Wanted To Be Able To Help In The Same Way
Having the chance to help younger players develop meant a great deal to him because he could see his younger self in a lot of the players who attended those camps.
He went to camps when he was younger and wanted the chance to give back to the kids and community.
Not Enough Room At Nike?
Perhaps Nike just didn’t have any more room for Curry. Kyrie Irving was an up and coming player who played the same position and he carried a different type of swag that Nike might have liked more.
It could have just been an “out with the old, in with the new” situation.
A Fatal Mistake
Whatever the reasoning may have been, nothing excused Nike from the other blunder they made at the pitch.
It was possibly the biggest mistake in sports marketing history.
Nike Dropped The Ball…
When you’re giving a presentation, its a good idea to double check the information you’re going to be showing. Nike obviously didn’t do that with Curry.
On one of the Powerpoint slides, Kevin Durant’s name was still on it because it was the same slide they presented to him and they forgot to change it.
He Knew His Worth
At that point, Curry and his father just stopped listening all together. And still, after all of this disrespect, Nike had the audacity to offer Curry a $2.5 million contract.
Curry decided he was worth way more than that.
Time To Move On?
Once the Nike presentation was over, it was clear as day that Nike had no plans to convert Steph Curry into one of their top-tier athletes.
That’s when Curry’s father suggested for Curry not to be afraid to step outside the box.
He Dug Deep
You have to remember, Curry is no stranger to being overlooked.
He wasn’t recruited and analysts didn’t put much respect on his name when he came out of college, but he loves to prove people wrong.
Under Armour To The Rescue
And like that, Under Armour showed up at the perfect time to make a pitch at Curry that would boost him to one of the most well-known athletes in the world.
They put $4 million on the table, but Nike still had the rights to match.
It Was A Risk…
Rewind a little and remember that Under Armour was taking a huge risk with Curry. Until then, Curry had failed to reach the playoffs for three years in a row and he only played 26 games the year before because of injury.
Many thought he was too injury-prone.
Goodbye Nike
In a smart move, Curry confidently turned down the $2.5 million Nike deal. Nike also decided to not match the $4 million offer from Under Armour. It seems as if the Curry’s were right in thinking Nike didn’t value the worldly shooter.
This ended up becoming one of the biggest marketing mistakes ever made in sports history. Curry ended up becoming an NBA champion and one of, if not the most liked player in the NBA.
The Curry Effect
Upon signing the deal with Under Armour, you won’t believe how much their stock went up. Under Armour shot up from $47 a share to a whopping $120! The legendary shooter single-handedly doubled the brand’s worth from $14 billion to $28 billion in a few years.
Under Armour understood the value of Curry, unlike Nike, and figured $4 million wasn’t going to cut it anymore. In order to keep Curry, they had to offer him a deal he couldn’t refuse.
A New Beginning
Once Curry signed with Under Armour, the flood gates opened. Under Armour became the second biggest athletic sportswear in the industry. Bigger athletes began signing with the brand, such as Jordan Spieth and Bryce Harper from MLB.
To make things even better, Under Armour signed a ten-year deal that will begin in 2020 to be the sole supplier of the on-field uniforms for the MLB. Under Armour knew how much Curry was worth at this point and they prepared a mighty deal for him…
All In With Curry
It took only two years for Under Armour to decide to put all their efforts into re-signing the Golden State Warrior. Their efforts were good enough to land a deal that would keep Curry with them up until 2024!
That’s not the best part, Curry received a lot of incentives too. He became a part owner of the company, something Nike nor Adidas have offered any of their athletes. And thanks to the MLB deal recently signed, Curry’s deal could leap to over a billion dollars if all goes well.
Curry, Now The Big Man On Campus
After all that he’s been through, Curry’s signature shoe is now the 2nd best selling shoe only behind Jordan’s. That means it’s more popular than Kobe’s, LeBron’s, and Durant’s! Even though LeBron James recently signed a lifetime contract with Nike.
You have to imagine that Nike is regretting their mistake of not taking Curry seriously in their pitch and not considering him a top tier player. The $14 billion man could have been theirs if they matched the $4 million Under Armour dished out.
Thank You, Riley
Something many people might not be aware of is Riley Curry played a part in Curry’s decision to leave Nike for Under Armour. The story is Curry gave his daughter three different shoes to choose from, Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour.
She picked up one shoe and threw it over her shoulder. She then picked up another and did the same with that one. On the last shoe, she picked it up and brought it to her dad. It was a the Under Armour one, of course.
I Can Do All Things…
Steph Curry is a religious man. One of the other reasons he left Nike was because they refused to incorporate his favorite bible verse into the shoe’s design. Bad move on their part.
Once he signed with Under Armour, they did not wait to include his favorite verse, Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The script, “I can do all things” is found on the inside of the tongue.
Don’t Mess With Curry’s Beliefs
Yes, Curry is religious. He even met his popular wife, Ayesha Curry at the church his family attended when they were teenagers. Both of them were in the same youth group and eventually got married there as well!
f you watch him play, he always taps his chest and points up to the sky after every shot he makes. He said that means, “have a heart for God.” It also keeps him grounded and reminds him where he gets his strength from.
“Nothing But Nets”
Several years ago, Steph Curry teamed up with a campaign under the United Nations called Nothing But Nets. Their aim is to stop the malaria epidemic that affects thousands of families in Africa. Good for you, Curry!
Did you know that every 60 seconds, a child is killed by malaria? Nothing But Nets gives mosquito nets treated with insecticide to help save the lives in Sub-Saharan Africa. Curry was thrilled to be able to help these families and also bring awareness to the issue.
