Did Nike Undervalue Stephen Curry?

Last year, a Stephen Curry and Nike partnership seemed like it was destined to happen. With his godfather currently employed at the corporate giant, Curry also donned Nike shoes on the court during his first four seasons with the NBA; it was clear that the situational factors all pointed Curry towards a path of success and longevity with the Swoosh. In what seemed an unexpected change of heart, an underwhelmed Curry left his contract with Nike and signed a less than $4 million USD deal with Under Armour that no one saw coming. His departure was clean cut, one that came free of scandals and lukewarm speculation: the Golden State Warrior point guard had officially signed with UA until 2024. That was before he became the NBA’s top-tier shooter.

As a Nike ambassador, Curry had jumped onboard with a roster of greats, but was Curry deemed unworthy for Nike’s image of superhero-like athletes? NBA compatriots like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and LeBron James had million-dollar endorsements, while players like Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving were granted opportunities to work with offseason Nike youth basketball camps. In an ESPN interview with Stephen’s father, Dell Curry reveals his son’s departure from Nike was indeed a warranted one. He cites one incident in 2013 when he accompanied Stephen to a meeting in Oakland, where Nike’s Vice President of North America basketball Nico Harrison allegedly mispronounced the athlete’s name while proposing a presentation that had KD’s name on it, also leading the Currys to believe they were given a recycled pitch. Meanwhile, prospects were looking bright over at Under Armour’s camp, which had already laced up Curry’s former teammate Kent Bazemore in hopes of enticing him. Suspect of Nike’s indifference to the relationship, the dispirited athlete cut his contract for a new future with team UA. Since then, Curry went on to win league MVP title, three All-Star games, and an NBA Finals Championship, while demonstrating an unbelievable shooting accuracy that’s put him on a path to a potential scoring record.

If you consider Nike’s past and current rosters of ambassadors, the brand has always picked out the industry’s championing athletes — the superheroes, the all-stars, the players people wanted to be. Exceptional talent and skill in sport will always be praised, but the people love Curry for something else he represents: the all-relatable everyman. UA has clearly hit the jackpot by signing Curry, and with the surging sales of the popular Curry Two signature shoe, the brand’s 95% growth in the fourth quarter of 2015 is certainly a testament to that. In what ESPN describes as “an entire paradigm shift,” it seems like sports marketing could benefit from an athlete we can relate to even more than the athlete we dream to be.