One player is cutting his uniform.
Back in 2015, the NBA and Nike signed a massive $1 billion eight-year partnership that went into effect at the beginning of this season. As part of the deal, Nike is now the the official uniform/apparel provider for the league, and the first brand to have its logo appear on all NBA jerseys.
Nike already has endorsement deals with the league’s biggest stars, including: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Kyrie Irving, and Russell Westbrook. But two big-name players want nothing to do with the swoosh symbol near their shoes.
Golden State Warriors guard and two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry has a contract with Under Armour, so he folds the top of his socks over to hide the Nike logo.
\nFollowing up on my deep dive on NBA #socks: Is Steph Curry rolling down his #socks to hide the Nike swoosh???? #socks pic.twitter.com/SvPEF1WSok
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) October 31, 2017\n
Houston Rockets’ guard and five-time all-star James Harden is sponsored by Adidas, so he cuts the logo off his socks altogether.
\nHarden cut the swoosh off his socks lol pic.twitter.com/9cdTVppS9s
— (@daddydoug23) November 2, 2017\n
According to Business Insider, there’s no rule in place to prevent an NBA player from rolling down their socks, so Curry won’t face any punishment from the league office. But Harden has been cutting his socks, so he may not be protected by the same rules.