The end of an era! Tiger Woods ends his partnership with Nike after more than 27 years. How much did he earn?

Former world number one Tiger Woods iconic association with Nike is finally over. The famous golfer announced this earlier this week on his Instagram profile with an official statement. The partnership lasted more than 27 years. Now a new chapter awaits Woods, without the pipe on his clothes.

Nike and Tiger Woods, in short, have always gone together. For nearly three decades, fans have been able to see this connection, whether it’s right on the court or on television screens around the world. The first contract was signed in 1996, when the 20-year-old Tiger was entering the pros. The five-year contract meant Woods earned $40 million.

“More than 27 years ago, I was fortunate enough to partner with one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Since then, the days have been filled with so many amazing moments and memories that I could go on forever if I started listing them,” Tiger Woods wrote in his official statement.

The winner of fifteen major tournaments during his career has signed several contracts with Nike. The most recent one was signed in 2013 and netted Woods approximately $200 million, according to The Athletic’s sources. In total, the American golfer has earned an estimated $500 million over the 27-year partnership.

Red shirt as a symbol of victory

If you’ve ever even peripherally watched golf, you couldn’t have failed to see Tiger in the iconic red shirt that accompanied him in the final rounds. Nike’s marketing department took great care in devising this outfit. It was believed that the combination of black trousers and a purple red polo shirt would be the right combination.

But Tiger Woods made the biggest advert for Nike in 2005 when he played a fantastic chip-in from under the green to the hole in the final round at the Masters. Tiger played the ball well to the left, but the curvature of the green was so perfectly read that the ball slowly rolled down the slope to the edge of the hole.

There, to everyone’s dismay, it stopped for a moment, only to fall into the hole two seconds later. During this time, the TV cameras were pointing closely at the ball, which had been logically rotated on the edge of the hole. Nike has benefited marketingly from this moment virtually to this day.

Just how significant that partnership was for Nike is evidenced in 2019, when Tiger Woods won his last Masters. According to Reuters, it’s estimated that Nike made $22.5 million in brand promotion during Woods’ winning final round.

Where will next steps of Tiger Woods lead?

The exact reasons why the partnership between Woods and Nike is no longer continuing have not been given by the media. Fans are very surprised that the company has not offered the legendary golfer a lifetime partnership deal.

Yet Nike stood behind Tiger even during his biggest crisis when problems in his personal life surfaced. Many companies walked away from Woods, but Nike stayed. Even later, when the American golfer suffered from an addiction to pills to control the pain of dozens of surgeries.

That made his comeback to the top in 2019 all the more rewarding for Nike. But now the company has officially thanked Woods for the past 27 years.

“You challenged competition, stereotypes, conventions, old ways of thinking. A challenge to golf itself. You were a challenge to us and most of all to yourself. And we are grateful for that challenge. It was a hell of a round of golf,” Nike wrote on its Instagram.

When asked if a new chapter with another company would follow the end of his association with Nike, Tiger directly indicated that it definitely would. Overseas sources speculate about Swiss brand On Running. However, we will have to wait for an official statement.

Source: The Athletic, Tiger Woods, Nike