Summary
- Partnership with Nike over 27 years made Tiger Woods worth $1.1 billion, even after a cheating scandal.
- Woods signed multiple lucrative deals with Nike, including a $200 million last 10-year contract.
- Despite cheating scandal and DUI, Nike praised Woods for challenging stereotypes in golf.
In January 2024, Tiger Woods announced that he'd ended his 27-year partnership with Nike. The pro golfer made $500 million from the collaboration alone. He's now worth $1.1 billion. Woods kept ties with Nike amid his 2003 cheating scandal, even when he was dropped from many other endorsements.
Looking back, the athlete's first-ever contract with Nike was surreal. At 20 years old, he started a rare relationship with "one of the most iconic brands in the world," after being called "cocky" by an established golfer. But recently, Nike itself commended the former face of their brand for "[challenging his] competition, stereotypes, conventions, the old school way of thinking." Here's how their multiple lucrative deals made that happen.
Nike Signed A $40 Million Deal With Tiger Woods After Curtis Strange Called Him "Cocky"
In 1996, Woods signed his first five-year contract with Nike, worth $40 million. He was 20 years old and had just made his professional debut. The following year, he won his first Major at the 1997 Masters, then his second at the 1999 PGA Championship. The signing happened around the same time his "Hello World" TV commercial came out – a now-iconic memory for golf fans.
But shortly before that turn in his career, golf pro-turned-color commentator, Curtis Strange called Woods "cocky." Talking about his thirst for wins, the latter quipped: "A victory would be awfully nice, too." However, the former said, "To me, that comes off as a little cocky or brash."
Woods explained: "I've always figured that why go to a tournament if you're not going there to try and win? There's really no point in even going. That's the attitude I've had my entire life, and that's the attitude I will always have."
He even told his dad that "second sucks. Third is even worse. I want to win. That's my nature." Strange dismissed the young golfer's drive, saying, "You'll learn." Well, Woods' "attitude" clearly worked for him. He's who's won 82 official PGA Tour events throughout his career.
Nike started making golf balls in 1998, but Tiger Woods didn't use them until 2000.
Tiger Woods Got $100 Million From His Record-Breaking Second Nike Contract
In 2001, Nike extended Woods's contract for another five years. The $105 million deal made the golf champ the highest-paid athlete endorser in the world. Those years were also the most significant period in Woods' career. He won eight majors from 2000 to 2005. He also became the only player to win all four majors in a row back then, achieving a "Grand Slam" from 2000 to 2001.
In 2001, Nike launched their first golf clubs, which the golfer-turned-entrepreneur used later that year until 2016, when the brand left the golf gear business. They also built the Tiger Woods Conference Center within its Oregon campus. Product-wise, this was the time Nike introduced the "TW" logo and Woods' first eponymous shoes.
Here's a full timeline of Nike and Woods' longtime collaboration:
| 1996-2001 | Woods' first contract with Nike worth $40 million |
| 2001-2005 | Woods was paid $105 million for a five-year contract extension with Nike |
| 2006 | Woods signed his third Nike contract despite his cheating scandal; he made $20 million to $40 million a year |
| 2013 | Woods signed his final multi-year contract with Nike |
Tiger Woods' Last 10-Year Deal With Nike Was Worth $200 Million
In 2013, Woods signed his final contract with Nike worth $200 million. At that time, Nike Golf president Cindy Davis described Woods as one of "Nike's most iconic athletes" who "has played an integral part in Nike Golf's growth since the very beginning." After sticking with Woods through his cheating scandal, Nike also stuck by him when he was arrested for a DUI in 2017.
In 2019, he won his first major in 11 years. To celebrate the milestone, Nike released a commercial showing a 3-year-old Woods with a putter in his hand. In January 2024, the longtime partnership ended. The sportswear label said on social media: "Tiger, you challenged your competition, stereotypes, conventions, the old school way of thinking."
Nike added: "You [Tiger Woods] challenged the entire institution of golf. You challenged us. And most of all, yourself. And for that challenge we're grateful."
Woods – who currently resides in Florida – also published his farewell message to Nike. "Over 27 years ago, I was fortunate to start a partnership with one of the most iconic brands in the world," he wrote. "The days since have been filled with so many amazing moments and memories, if I started naming them, I could go on forever."
He then credited "Phil Knight's passion and vision [that] brought this Nike and Nike Golf partnership together. He continued: "I want to personally thank him, along with the Nike employees and incredible athletes I have had the pleasure of working with along the way. People will ask if there is another chapter. Yes, there will certainly be another chapter. See you in LA." That new chapter might be Woods' new apparel and lifestyle line, Sun Day Red.
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