UConn women's basketball player uses NIL to design Steph Curry's shoes

Azzi Fudd, a guard on the UConn women’s basketball team, used a unique NIL deal to design Steph Curry’s shoes in the NBA Finals. Fudd was able to do this because she signed a NIL deal with Curry’s brand, SC30 Inc.

The shoes themselves were customized Under Armour Curry 4 Flotros. They were painted blue, pink and yellow with a gender symbol on them. They also feature the phrases, “We’re not done yet” and “#RetireInequality.”

The Hartford Courant reports Fudd and Curry designed the shoes alongside DEZ Customz Art and Customs, TIAA, and custom sneaker artist Brad Hall.

TIAA, a financial services company, has been working with women athletes to raise awareness of the pay gap in women’s sports. They’re doing this as the 50th anniversary of Title IX approaches. This made Azzi Fudd, a star women’s athlete on the high-profile UConn team, a great athlete to work with through her NIL deal.

For her part, Azzie Fudd tweeted about the campaign in March. In the post she described herself as a TIAA ambassador, adding them to the list of NIL deals she has.

“Women have 30% less income in retirement. What will it take to close the gap? Try the 30% Challenge and show me and @TIAA your trick shot,” Azzi Fudd tweeted.

Starting June 23rd, a limited number of these custom shoes will be available for purchase. All proceeds from the shoes will be going to the Women’s Sports Foundation.

Who is Azzi Fudd?

Azzi Fudd, as a sophomore, was named Gatorade National Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year. By that time, she had already had several scholarship offers. Entering her sophomore year at UConn, Fudd is one of the best women’s basketball players in the country, on the strength of her jump shot.

As a freshman, she scored 12.1 points per game on a 45.7% field goal percentage. Her highest scoring output for a single game came against Villanova, when she scored 29 points.

The UConn star is also a major player in the NIL game. Before she ever played a game, she had multiple NIL deals with the likes of Chipotle and BioSteel. That deal with BioSteel even included equity in the company.

Azzi Fudd’s NIL deal that linked her to Steph Curry’s SC30 brand came during the 2021-22 season.

“As I continue to focus on becoming the best player and student I can be while in college, I also look forward to broadening my understanding of business and life beyond basketball,” Fudd told the Associated Press. “This partnership with Steph and his SC30 team will help me do that. I’m really excited about everything we’ll do together in the future.”