Tiger Woods and Nike end successful relationship

The relationship between Tiger Woods and Nike is over. A message published last Monday by the golf legend announced the end of a relationship that began in 1996, when Woods was only 20 years old. For the golfer, the result has been an estimated income of 500 million euros; for Nike, the benefits are incalculable. The brand backed the athlete when he was just a great promise, even supporting him in the worst moments of his career, even when the company stopped manufacturing golf equipment. In the field of advertising, the relationship between Woods and Nike has left some great ads.

The Tiger-Nike marriage began in 1996, even before the Californian turned professional and played his first professional tournament (he had already played others as an amateur), the Greater Milwaukee Open, in August of that year. After several seasons negotiating with the firm, Hughes Norton, his first agent at IMG, presented him with the final offer: 40 million dollars for five years. Unheard of. Until then, the most powerful sponsorship ever signed in the sport to date was Greg Norman’s with Reebok, at about two and a half million a year. “Well, I guess that’s not bad,” was Woods’ reaction.

“27 years ago I was lucky enough to begin a relationship with one of the world’s most iconic brands. The time since then has been filled with mind-blowing moments and great memories that I could be recounting for an eternity. Phil Knight (CEO and founder of the Oregon, USA-based company) created this relationship between Nike and golf and I want to thank him personally, as well as the employees and other sports figures I’ve had the pleasure of working with along the way. People will wonder if there will be another episode. Yes, there certainly will. See you in LA!”, Tiger posted.