Stephen Curry’s Failed Endorsement Deal With Nike Cost Them $14 Billion
We're talking about NBA superstar Stephen Curry. You might be wondering, how could one of the top NBA players not choose to sign with the leading American sports brand? Well, it all comes down to one major fumble on Nike's part. A $14 billion dollar mistake to be exact. Curious to know what went down? Just keep reading to see how Nike lost the chance to have Stephen Curry as their spokesman.
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Curry Should Have Been A No-Brainer For Nike
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.
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.
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Curry Signed A Deal With Nike That Would Last Until 2013
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.
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.
He Was Free To Hear 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.
They set up a meeting with Curry and his father, former NBA player Dell Curry, at the Oakland Marriott. That's the same building where the Warriors practice. Curry admitted it was a bit awkward to hear a pitch from someone he was already signed to.
Nike Didn't Treat Curry As A Top Tier Athlete
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.
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.
Nike Even Mispronounced His Name In The Presentation
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.
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!
Curry Felt Under Appreciated By The Company
As the meeting continued, it became crystal clear that Nike didn't value Curry as much as their other athletes. Nike had given younger, unproven players like Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving youth development camps instead of Curry. That hurt for Curry.
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?
- BRAD PENNER, BRAD PENNER-USA TODAY SPORTS, Getty Images
- BRAD PENNER, BRAD PENNER-USA TODAY SPORTS, Getty Images
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.
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, it's 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 listed. It was the same slide they presented to Durant and they forgot to change it.
At that point, Curry and his father just stopped listening altogether. 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 Curry not be afraid to step outside the box.
You have to remember, that 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.
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 Under Armour Partnership
Upon signing the deal with Under Armour their stock skyrocketed. 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 short 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 began in 2020 to become 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
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. Another 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.
