BASKETBALL ICON STEPHEN CURRY has signed a long-term endorsement contract with Chinese company Li-Ning, ending drawn-out negotiations following Curry’s departure from Under Armour last November.
The Golden State Warriors superstar’s Curry Brand announced Monday the partnership to keep building Curry’s global reach in basketball, golf and lifestyle. The agreement will include basketball products, athleisure lifestyle wear, the ability for Curry to sign male and female athletes under his brand, and a full golf line. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Industry sources told ESPN that the deal is for 10 years.
Curry and Li-Ning will team up on brand creation and product development along with sports culture initiatives with what they called “a shared commitment to inspiring the next generation of athletes around the world.”
Curry called it “the partnership of a lifetime”. He wore the Li-Ning shoes of both Dwyane Wade and teammate Jimmy Butler earlier this year during what was considered a sneaker free-agency process.
Li-Ning plans to build Curry Brand stores in the United States and in China. Curry’s agent, Jeff Austin, finalized negotiations in recent days, ESPN reports.
Curry split from Under Armour after a 13-year partnership, announcing a mutual divorce in November and expressing gratitude despite what industry sources said was growing frustration about the underinvestment from a brand decreasing in valuation.
Curry immediately sparked a high-profile recruitment during a Warriors road trip in San Antonio, wearing Nike Kobe 6 “Mambacita” sneakers to warm up pregame and shuffling through a number of various brands over the proceeding months.
