After 13 years, Stephen Curry and Under Armour are parting ways. And while the greatest shooter of all time’s 13th signature sneaker will release with the Maryland-based brand in February 2026, Stephen Curry and his company Curry Brand are officially sneaker free agents. While theories grow about what company Stephen Curry will sign with next, even more questions have risen around just exactly how a seemingly lifetime partnership could dissolve so quickly.

In his substack, The Sneaker Newsletter, longtime industry insider Nick Engvall details the fundamental breakdown.

“Looking at it now, I don’t think Under Armour ever understood what they had,”Engvall writes.

The beginning of the partnership had potential, Engvall explains, as he references Under Armour’s Anatomix and Micro G models as risky in the best way possible. And while Curry’s first two signatures with Under Armour were a smash hit, pairing confident ad campaigns with expressive sneaker designs, Engvall believes that the brand never fully caught traction with sneaker culture as a whole.

“Basketball shoes aren’t just performance products; they’re status symbols, fashion statements, cultural artifacts. Nike understands this. Adidas understands this. Under Armour thought they were making athletic equipment when they should have been making art,” Engvall writes.

Stephen Curry’s rise throughout the late 2010s was unmistakable, inspiring the generations that followed to graviate toward the three point line while securing championships left and right. Engvall claims Curry should have dominated the youth basketball scene as a result. But the Curry line never broke through, referencing how Curry’s business would generate $100 to $120 million annually in contrast to Jordan Brand’s over $5 billion.

“My frustration is that Under Armour had all the pieces. They had the right athlete at the right time. They had initial momentum. Those first few Curry models actually sold well. They had a founder in Plank who was willing to spend money and take risks (or so it seemed). They even had decent technology… the shoes performed well on court,” Engvall writes.

“And the saddest part? Those chunky, strap-heavy early designs they abandoned? They’d be fire in today’s market. Every design trend they walked away from has come back around. They were sitting on gold and traded it for whatever the Curry 2 Low “Chef” was supposed to be.”

To read more, head over to The Sneaker Newsletter.

Photos via Getty Images.