Every Article, Interview & Campaign Behind Under Armour's $5B+ Rise
We curated every major article, interview, and campaign about Under Armour's rise — from Kevin Plank selling moisture-wicking shirts out of his car trunk to a publicly traded global sports brand competing with Nike and Adidas.
First: Why Should You Care About Under Armour's Press Coverage?
30 years of media coverage across sports, business, and lifestyle press — from scrappy startup to public company to turnaround story
Under Armour is one of the most covered sports brands in American media — and not just because of the products. The narrative tension between founder ambition, athlete partnerships, and corporate struggles has kept journalists writing for three decades. Understanding this coverage reveals exactly how earned media works at scale.
Under Armour reported $5.7B in net revenues for fiscal year 2024 — making it the third-largest sports apparel brand in the US behind Nike and Adidas. That scale generates constant media attention from financial, sports, and business press simultaneously.
The "I Will What I Want" campaign generated an estimated $35M in earned media value. One campaign transformed Under Armour's brand perception from "football brand for men" to a culturally relevant athletic brand for everyone — proving earned media can reshape a brand faster than any ad budget.
Under Armour has had 4 CEOs in 5 years — Kevin Plank, Patrik Frisk, Stephanie Linnartz, and Plank again. Each leadership change generated a wave of media coverage across CNBC, Reuters, and business press, turning corporate governance into an ongoing public narrative that other brands can learn from.
The Founding Story
How a University of Maryland football player turned a sweat problem into a $5B+ global brand
Under Armour's founding story is as compelling as any in American business. Kevin Plank, a special teams captain at the University of Maryland, was tired of cotton T-shirts soaking up sweat during practice. In 1996, he started making moisture-wicking synthetic shirts in his grandmother's basement in Washington, D.C., and sold them from the trunk of his car to former teammates. The press has retold this story hundreds of times because it works — it's specific, relatable, and true.
Athlete Partnerships & The Curry Era
How Stephen Curry, Dwayne Johnson, and Tom Brady shaped Under Armour's media narrative
Under Armour's athlete partnerships have been the single biggest driver of sports media coverage. The Stephen Curry signing in 2013 transformed the brand from a football-first company into a basketball powerhouse — Curry's back-to-back MVP seasons in 2015-2016 coincided with Under Armour's peak stock price. When Curry departed in late 2025 after 13 years, it generated another massive wave of coverage across ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and every sports business outlet. Their social media presence amplified every partnership announcement into a cultural moment.
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Marketing Campaigns & Earned Media
The campaigns that defined Under Armour's brand — from "Protect This House" to "I Will What I Want"
Under Armour's marketing campaigns have been studied across every major advertising publication. The "I Will What I Want" campaign featuring Misty Copeland and Gisele Bündchen is credited with generating an estimated $35M in earned media value (per Washington Post) and breaking Under Armour into the women's market. Their paid ad strategy has always worked in tandem with earned media to amplify the brand narrative.
The Turnaround Story & CEO Changes
4 CEOs in 5 years — the leadership drama that keeps Under Armour in headlines
Under Armour's corporate governance has generated as much press coverage as its products. Kevin Plank stepped down in 2019, Patrik Frisk lasted two years, Stephanie Linnartz lasted roughly one year, and Plank returned in April 2024. Each transition triggered waves of coverage across CNBC, Reuters, Retail Dive, and financial press. The stock dropped approximately 40% through 2024-2025 as investors questioned the turnaround strategy. Their pricing and positioning has been a central topic in every analyst note.
Brand Reputation & Customer Sentiment
What review sites, Reddit, and real customers say about Under Armour — beyond the press coverage
Press coverage tells the story a brand wants told. Reviews and Reddit tell the story customers actually live. Under Armour's reputation on third-party platforms adds a dimension that curated media can't capture. While business press focuses on CEO changes and stock performance, consumers talk about product quality, sizing, and whether the brand still delivers the performance edge that made it famous. Their tracking infrastructure and email & CRM strategy play a role in how they manage post-purchase customer experience.
Why this matters for your brand: The gap between press narrative and customer sentiment is where opportunity lives. Under Armour's press coverage oscillates between turnaround optimism and investor skepticism, but review sites surface the friction points — shipping delays, sizing inconsistency, customer service wait times — that real buyers care about. Monitoring both gives you the complete picture. Track how this plays out in their email & CRM strategy and tracking infrastructure.
Key Findings
- → Under Armour has received extensive press coverage across ESPN, CNBC, Forbes, Bloomberg, Washington Post, and Sports Illustrated — driven by 30 years of narrative tension between founder vision, athlete partnerships, and corporate struggles
- → The "I Will What I Want" campaign generated an estimated $35M in earned media value (Washington Post), proving that a single culturally resonant campaign can reshape brand perception faster than years of paid advertising
- → Stephen Curry's departure in late 2025 after 13 years generated massive sports media coverage — the partnership had been the single biggest driver of Under Armour's basketball business and stock price trajectory
- → 4 CEO transitions in 5 years (Plank → Frisk → Linnartz → Plank) have kept Under Armour in constant business press rotation, turning corporate governance into an ongoing public narrative
- → Under Armour's 2025 NFL partnership return as official footwear and glove partner signals a strategic pivot back to the brand's football roots — the sport where Kevin Plank's founding story began
What This Data Means for You
Turning Under Armour's media strategy into your competitive advantage
Under Armour's PR trajectory proves that earned media is a double-edged sword — the same narrative energy that drives positive coverage during growth phases generates critical coverage during downturns. Their story-driven approach (founder narrative, athlete partnerships, campaign launches) has generated thousands of media articles, but the 4 CEO transitions show how quickly a brand narrative can shift from "disruptor" to "in crisis." Combined with their SEO & content strategy, every press mention feeds organic search visibility that compounds over time. The lesson: build your media narrative deliberately, because journalists will write about you whether you control the story or not. Their tech stack and site speed infrastructure ensure that when press coverage drives traffic, the website converts.
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Actionable lessons from Under Armour's media strategy playbook
Build a Product-Origin Story
Plank's "sweaty cotton T-shirt" problem is endlessly rewritable. Journalists need a concrete origin moment, not a mission statement. LeadMaxxing helps you identify which competitor origin stories resonate with press so you can craft your own.
Turn Partnerships Into PR Moments
Every Curry signing, Rock partnership, and NFL deal became a media event. LeadMaxxing monitors competitor partnerships so you can time your announcements for maximum earned media impact.
Create Campaigns That Generate Coverage
"I Will What I Want" earned $35M in media value because it told a cultural story, not a product story. LeadMaxxing tracks which campaign angles generate the most competitor press coverage in your market.
Monitor Both Press and Reviews
Under Armour's press narrative and customer sentiment tell different stories. LeadMaxxing monitors competitor reviews, Reddit threads, and press coverage simultaneously so you see the full picture.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & References
espn.com
cnbc.com
washingtonpost.com
about.underarmour.com
nfl.com
wikipedia.org
si.com
retaildive.com