Can you believe Nike slept on the 2015 NBA MVP? Just a few years ago, the Swoosh had a chance to lock Stephen Curry down and passed him up.
Let's flash back to 2013, when Curry had a Nike endorsement deal and a handful of player exclusive colorways, such as the Hyperdunk 2010s pictured above. As the sharp shooter's contract came to an end, Nike made it clear it was interested in him, just not that interested. The deal offered Curry a yearly payout of under $2.5 million, a number that Under Armour was able to counter. From that point, Nike refused to match UA's offer, and Curry was cut loose, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell.
Nike's low-ball offers stemmed from from the fact it wasn't confident that Curry could move units of a signature sneaker. Shortly thereafter, Under Armour rolled out Steph's first signature, the UA Curry One. While the Curry One might not be a must-have for sneakerheads, it's developed somewhat of a cult following amongst ballers and definitely hasn't had any trouble selling. In fact, the hard part has been actually tracking a pair down.
"It's one of the hottest shoes in basketball, and they're selling from kids sizes all the way up to adults. There are 450 players in the NBA and we're proud that the one MVP has our shoes on his feet," said a UA executive.
[via ESPN]
