Warriors superstar Steph Curry has been with Under Armour since 2013, and his current contract -- which runs through 2024 -- is worth a reported $20 million annually.
But could the three-time NBA champion leave the apparel company in the not-so-distant future?
Under Armour is hurting financially, and its economic issues started before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
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As Lorraine Mirabella of The Baltimore Sun wrote Tuesday:
The Baltimore-based brand saw its sales plummet 23 percent in the first quarter and reported a loss of $590 million as most of its stores around the globe have remained closed since mid-March.
After financial results were released Monday, analysts asked executives how they are trimming expenses. Robert Drbul, an analyst with Guggenheim Securities LLC, asked during a teleconference whether endorsement contracts allow for renegotiating payments to athletes.
“We’ve been negotiating and working with them, and we’ve been able to get some extended payment terms there, which are helpful just in general with our overall capital preservation efforts,” said David Bergman, Under Armour’s chief financial officer.
Golden State Warriors
It's unclear exactly where things stand with Steph specifically.
But his relationship with Under Armour has had some very rocky moments over the last three years.
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In February 2017, CEO Kevin Plank (who stepped down late last year) praised Donald Trump by saying: "To have such a pro-business President is something that is a real asset for the country -- people can really grab that opportunity."
Curry responded by telling The Athletic's Marcus Thompson (who was at The Bay Area News Group at the time): "I agree with that description. If you remove the 'et' from 'asset.' "
And as Julie Creswell and Kevin Draper of The New York Times wrote back in late January:
In the summer of 2018, two top Under Armour executives traveled to the West Coast on a critical mission. Kevin Plank, the sports apparel company’s founder and chief executive, and Patrik Frisk, its president and chief operating officer, needed to persuade Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors star and the company’s highest-profile endorser, not to leave the brand.
Mr. Plank was unhappy that Mr. Curry, whose endorsement deal pays him millions of dollars a year, would rarely wear Under Armour clothing to N.B.A. games. Mr. Curry was upset that sales of the signature Curry 3 shoe had been weak.
At the meeting, participants found a solution that would showcase just how much Mr. Curry meant to the company. Mr. Plank and Mr. Frisk agreed to build a separate business around him, one reminiscent of what Nike had done for Michael Jordan two decades before. The company brought on the former executive who had overseen the creation of the Jordan brand at Nike to run the Curry brand and promised Mr. Curry much more involvement in the development of his shoes. Mr. Curry decided to remain, and a crisis was averted.
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In September 2015, Under Armour’s stock peaked at around $52.
On Wednesday, the stock price closed at $6.93.