Tiger Woods and Nike part ways after 27 years and 500 million | Sports

It is the end of an empire. Tiger Woods confirmed this Monday that he has ended his historic sponsorship agreement with Nike, an agreement that united the two parties for 27 years and means the American golfer, winner of 15 majors, more than 500 million euros in income. “27 years ago I was fortunate enough to start a relationship with one of the most iconic brands in the world. The time since has been filled with mind-blowing moments and great memories that I could spend an eternity recounting. The passion and vision of Phil Knight (the company’s founder) created this relationship between Nike and golf and I personally thank him, as well as the employees and other sports figures I have had the pleasure of working with over the years. By the way people will wonder if there will be another episode. Yes, there definitely will be. “See you in Los Angeles!” Tiger explained in a statement, indicating that he will play the Genesis Invitational from February 15 to 18.

August 25, 1996. A young Tiger Woods takes the last shots of his life as an amateur. It’s goodbye to everything great. That Sunday he won his third consecutive Amateur US Open, an unprecedented feat. Two days later he confirmed his jump into the professional world. Of course, in a big way. Nike bathes in gold without pocketing it Pat In the elite class: 40 million euros for five seasons. There is an iconic television ad with the signature. “Hello world. They say I’m not ready for you. Are you ready for me?” says Tiger on the screen. Sports company founder Phil Knight says: “The world didn’t see what it would do for sports.” He was right. Two days later, on August 29, Woods made his senior debut at the Greater Milwaukee Open. In April of the following year he won the first major he competed in as a professional, the 1997 Augusta Masters, which marked the beginning of a revolution. Indeed, nothing will be the same.

That first 40 million to join Nike was just the beginning of the source of money for both parties. Tiger severed its previous ties with Ping and Reebok and became a billing machine. Nike multiplied its revenue by 10, from 30 million annually before the Woods era to 300 in just two seasons after his signing. To put it in perspective, in 1984, when he joined Michael Jordan, the company gave him a check for $250,000 plus a percentage of Air Jordan sneaker sales to convince him not to go with Adidas. In 1996, Greg Norman enjoyed the best sponsorship deal in golf. Reebok paid the new idol 20 lakhs, which is 20 times less than Nike. The tiger broke all the plans.

His game was already an advertisement. Like that Chip On the 16th hole of the 2005 Augusta Masters, the ball rolls gently until it drops at the last moment into the hole featuring the Nike logo. It was real life but it looked like a movie. So Nike successively renewed and increased its star’s contract: in 2001, another 100 million for five more years; In 2006, eight courses for contracts between 160 and 320; In 2013, renewed for 10 seasons and 200 million more in the account. To date, after 27 years of marriage, Tiger has earned between $500 and $660 million. The implications for the company are almost unimaginable. The 2019 Masters alone, one of its revivals, gave the entity a profit of 22.5 million.

Nike remained loyal to Tiger even in the worst moments, his long history of injuries and especially his infidelity scandal, when many companies abandoned him (AT&T, Accenture, Gatorade, Gillette, Tag Heuer…). Although the company ceased production of golf equipment in 2016, Tiger continues to be worn for battle. Woods today uses TaylorMade brand clubs, a Bridgestone ball and Footjoy sports shoes, a special design he has used since his fatal traffic accident in 2021. His next destination may be the Grayson Clothiers firm, which already has a contract with his son Charlie, 14. years old, and on the circuit with his great friend, Justin Thomas.

The mountain of wealth that Tiger and Nike have amassed pales in comparison to the more than 500 million that the American player has amassed in prizes over his long career, including 15 majors (after Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18) and 82 titles. on the PGA Tour (tied all-time mark by Sam Snead). According to Forbes magazine, Woods, Michael Jordan (94 million in NBA salary) and LeBron James are the only three athletes in history who have exceeded $1 billion in net income between their sports payrolls, their businesses and their sponsorships. (Tiger reaches 1,700. ).

At a time when golf has been fractured by the arrival of the Saudi league and record hirings like Jon Rahm, Tiger continues to operate as the multinational it has always been. LIV CEO Greg Norman admitted that Tiger rejected a check of between 700 and 800 million to switch sides. It’s been more than a quarter of a century since Nike started paying him like a legend before he was even one.

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