The 27-year collaboration between American professional golfer Tiger Woods and Nike has officially ended, as the world-famous golfer revealed this information in a statement posted on the social media platform X on Monday, 8 January 2024.
Woods expressed how he wants to personally thank Phil Knight for his passion and vision in bringing this Nike and Nike Golf partnership together, along with the Nike employees and the various incredible athletes associated with the brand, as he got the pleasure of working with them.
Woods’s longtime agent, Mark Steinberg, told CNBC that the golfer made the decision not to renew his contract with Nike due to business reasons.
Months of rumors that the two might split up culminated in the announcement. Nike also posted a picture of Woods wearing his famous red shirt on Instagram as a sign of them ending their contract, and they captioned it as: “It was a hell of a run.”
The company wrote in the statement that for over 27 years, they have had the honor to partner with Tiger Woods, one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen. They added that over the duration of the partnership they had, they had seen firsthand, alongside the rest of the world, how Tiger not only transformed the game of golf but also broke down barriers in all sports.
They stuck by the well-known golfer even after he broke records, challenged accepted wisdom, and inspired enormous numbers of people to take up the game all around the world. Nike consequently declared that they were honored to have traveled this road with Woods and that they wished him luck in all of his future pursuits.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) January 8, 2024
Woods’ New Potential Partners
Regarding Woods’ future endorsement agreement, details are currently unknown. However, he stated on social media that “there will certainly be another chapter.” Recent speculations on Woods’ upcoming project have linked him to On Running, the Swiss company that tennis legend Roger Federer joined in 2019 after leaving Nike.
Co-CEO of On Running Marc Maurer addressed the rumors on Monday at the Orlando ICR Conference, stating that It is always interesting to see what’s out there and that they have heard the rumors as well. He expressed his wish that Tiger finds a worthy new partner but declared that “it’s not going to be us.”
TaylorMade, a manufacturer of golf clubs and equipment that 48-year-old Woods has been using since 2017, maybe another possible destination for the 15-time major winner. However, TaylorMade stated on Monday that their partnership is solely for equipment and that they would like to make no further comments.
Analysts don’t anticipate that the news will have a significant impact on the world-famous athletic footwear and apparel manufacturing company because there have been months of speculations regarding Woods’ leaving.
According to Brian Yarbrough, a Nike analyst for Edward Jones, the corporation continues to believe that they have endorsements with some of the most famous athletes in the entire world, and they expect that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.
Profits of Investing in Woods
Nike has been gradually cutting back on golf for years because the sport didn’t generate a lot of revenue for the company, and the Oregon-based sports gear manufacturer declared in 2016 that it would no longer be producing golf equipment.
Still, Woods brought the Nike brand a lot of attention, as according to reports, he single-handedly earned $500 million from “the swoosh” over his career.
According to Apex Marketing founder Eric Smallwood, if Woods makes it to four rounds, Nike stands to gain between $2 and $4 million in exposure from him. Similarly, at the 2023 Masters, Woods offered FootJoy $3.2 million in exposure when he traded in his Nikes for the brand.
Who is Tiger Woods?
Born on December 30, 1975, Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods is a professional golfer from the United States who holds multiple golf records, ranks second in men’s major championships, and is tied for first place in total PGA Tour wins.
As one of the most well-known athletes in contemporary history, Woods is recognized by many as one of the best golfers of all time and is an inductee at The World Golf Hall of Fame.
For the most weeks in a row and the most weeks overall of any golfer in history, he has been the best player in the world. He has won the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times and won the PGA Player of the Year title a record 11 times.
