Since Under Armour announced it would part ways with Steph Curry last week, the two-time MVP has continued to wear Curry Brand shoes during games.
This is despite appearances in Nike and Reebok shoes during warm-ups and tunnel entrances in the three Warriors games since the announcement. Curry even called himself a sneaker “free agent” on Friday night.
Curry does not have a non-compete and is free to sign with another brand immediately, Front Office Sports confirmed last week. But Under Armour’s announcement said that the Curry 13 shoe, the final Curry Brand and Under Armour collaboration, will still be released in February, with additional colorways and apparel available until Curry’s deal with the company ends in October.
So that raises the question: Even if Curry is a sneaker free agent, is he still tied to wearing Curry Brand shoes during games?
The answer is no. The Warriors star is free to wear any brand he chooses, whether in games, warm-ups, or tunnel entrances, a source familiar with the split told FOS. He is not even required to wear the Curry 13 shoes when they launch in February.
Curry does have some incentive to continue wearing Curry Brand shoes on the court since he is free to take Curry Brand with him to be produced by another company. He owns his intellectual property rights, so he can carry over the brand name and identity if his next partner is willing to take over the subbrand.
He could also simply prefer playing in Curry shoes. He’s played in Curry Series 7—which was released in August—in all but one game this season, according to KikStats. He played in the Curry 12 on Nov. 12, a national game against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs the day before his breakup with Under Armour was announced.
“I was blessed to have an unbelievable experience and take a chance on something that meant a lot to me over the last 13 years and extremely proud of myself, my team, everybody who’s able to touch that business for that long,” Curry said Friday. “We all should be proud of what we were able to accomplish in taking a basketball brand, or a brand and category that wasn’t really a thing before to where we did. But I’m excited about the future.”
A representative for Curry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
