Tiger Woods stated Monday he was ending his longstanding partnership with Nike, drawing a line underneath a profitable close to three-decade relationship with the long-lasting sporting items model that helped rework him into golf’s first billionaire.
In an announcement on Twitter, the 15-time Main champion thanked Nike for the corporate’s help since signing with the model in 1996 in a deal that earned Woods a reported $500 million (A$745m) over the subsequent 27 years.
“Over 27 years in the past, I used to be lucky to start out a partnership with some of the iconic manufacturers on the planet,” Woods stated.
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“The times since have been full of so many superb moments and recollections, if I began naming them, I may go on endlessly.
“(Former Nike CEO) Phil Knight’s ardour and imaginative and prescient introduced this Nike and Nike Golf partnership collectively and I wish to personally thank him, together with the Nike workers and unbelievable athletes I’ve had the pleasure of working with alongside the way in which.”
Woods didn’t give particulars on any new sponsor, however hinted of having the ability to reveal “one other chapter” at subsequent month’s Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles.
“Folks will ask if there may be one other chapter. Sure, there will definitely be one other chapter. See you in LA! Tiger,” Woods wrote.
Woods and Nike grew to become synonymous over the course of the 48-year-old American’s profession, from the second he introduced his skilled debut in 1996 with an acclaimed Nike advert marketing campaign the place he declared merely: “Howdy World.”
Initially, Woods’ partnership with Nike was restricted to clothes, however the sporting items large later went into the manufacture of balls and golf equipment, partially pushed by Woods’ success in broadening golf’s world enchantment.
– ‘Hell of a spherical’ –
Nike on Monday saluted Woods for his achievements, with an Instagram publish headlined: “It was a hell of a spherical, Tiger” above a photograph of the participant sporting his signature ‘Sunday purple’ Nike shirt.
“Tiger, you challenged your competitors, stereotypes, conventions, the old-fashioned mind-set,” Nike stated within the publish.
“You challenged the complete establishment of golf. You challenged us. And most of all, your self. And for that problem we’re grateful.”
In a separate assertion, Nike stated Woods, the son of an African-American father and Thai mom, “broke boundaries for all of sport.”
“We watched him set information, problem typical considering and encourage generations of individuals across the globe,” Nike stated.
“We’re grateful to have been part of it. We want him one of the best sooner or later.” Nike remained a steadfast supporter of Woods all through the corporate’s partnership with the golfer, most notably in 2009 when his profession was upended by the intercourse scandal that shattered his clean-cut picture.
Whereas different sponsors walked away, Nike, who from the get-go considered Woods as the identical type of generational expertise as NBA famous person Michael Jordan, stood agency.
Woods in flip repaid that loyalty even after Nike moved away from the golf tools enterprise in 2016, persevering with to put on the model’s clothes.
Nonetheless indicators the partnership was drawing to a detailed started to emerge following Woods’ horrific 2021 automotive crash in California that left him with severe accidents and nearly led to an amputation of his proper leg.
Woods has worn Footjoy sneakers for the reason that accident, stating that they provided better stability for his ankle, fueling hypothesis concerning the standing of his Nike deal.
Talking on the PNC Championship final month, Woods was coy when pressed by reporters about whether or not his most up-to-date 10-year contract with Nike — which expired in 2023 — could be renewed “I”m nonetheless sporting their product,” Woods stated on the time.