After more than 27 years together, American golf legend, Tiger Woods and the world’s leading sports apparel company, Nike, have ended their partnership.
Since going professional in 1996, the 15-time major golf winner has been using the brand’s gear and goods.
Woods, 48, who announced the split on his social media, said, “The days since have been filled with so many amazing moments and memories, if I started naming them, I could go on forever.”
Nike also spoke to the development, saying that it was an honour for them to partner with “one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.”
As a twenty-year-old going professional in 1996, Woods, now 48, inked his first deal with Nike for $40 million (£31.5 million) over five years.
After Woods dominated golf for almost ten years and moved up to second place on the list of men’s major titles, three behind leader Jack Nicklaus, the arrangement turned into one of the richest collaborations in sports history.
Over his career, Woods secured many contracts with Nike, including a $200 million contract worth of 10 years, making him one of the most well-known athletes in the world.
Interim marketing and strategy Professor Tim Derdenger of Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business in the United States said that Woods and Nike’s long-term collaboration was “a win-win for everybody.”
Derdenger stated that although Nike paid Woods $200 million (£157 million) to sponsor him over a ten-year period, the company made back 60% of its investment through sales of golf balls in the US
