Thursday, September 14, 2000
Tiger close to $100 million
Nike deal
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
Fresh off his record-breaking summer of
golf, Tiger Woods is on the verge of signing a $100 million endorsement
contract with Nike believed to be the richest in sports, The Associated
Press has learned.
Mark Steinberg, his agent at IMG, declined
to discuss specifics of the deal on Thursday, only to say it was
an “outstanding contract.”
“We are within days of a signature,”
he said.
“It compensates Tiger not just for
what he's done with Nike, but what he has done for golf and sports.”
Woods' previous contract with Nike was said
to be $40 million over five years. He was used heavily in their
advertisements and established his own line of clothing and shoes.
A source close to the negotiations, speaking
on condition of anonymity, described it as the “largest contract
in sports marketing history,” worth about $100 million over
five years.
“There are so many different revenue
streams,” the source said. “It's impossible to calculate
what the end result will be.”
Nike Golf president Bob Wood described the
contract as “pretty creative.”
”“It's not often you get a chance
to work with somebody who's the best in the world at what they
do,” he said. “Working with and being associated with
Tiger Woods has created an incredible amount of positive energy
about Nike Golf and Nike.”
While Wood also declined to discuss contract
details, he did say the amount was partly tied to sales.
Woods has represented Nike since turning
professional in 1996. In just four years, he has won all four
major championships, becoming, at 24, the youngest player to do
so. He set the scoring record in each of them, and he has attracted
a record number of TV viewers just about every week.
With three tournaments still to play, his
nine victories this year are the most in one PGA Tour season since
1950, and he is on pace to shattered the all-time season scoring
average set by Byron Nelson in 1945.
In June, he gave Nike a huge lift when he
switched to the Nike Tour Accuracy ball. He went on to win the
U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by 15 strokes, the largest winning margin
in the 140-year history of major championship golf.
Woods also became the first player to finish
a U.S. Open in double digits below par, a 12-under 272. A month
later, he won the British Open at St. Andrews with a 19-under
269 — another major championship record.
Last month, he became the first player in
the stroke-play era of the PGA Championship to win back-to-back
titles, outlasting Bob May in a three-hole playoff.
The Nike Golf president said its market
share for balls has increased from about 1 percent in April to
nearly 4 percent.
The switch to the Nike ball did not have
a major impact on contract negotiations, Wood said. Nike also
is considering a move toward golf clubs.
“If Nike Golf comes out with equipment,
we definitely will be looking at one person,” he said.
Woods devotes a substantial amount of time
to Nike, and the Beaverton, Ore., company has used him effectively
in their TV ads.
Perhaps the most famous was not even planned.
During a break from a commercial of Woods hitting balls with dozens
of hackers on a range, he began bouncing a ball on his wedge —
behind his back, between his legs — before whacking it in
midair.
Such images, along with the spectacular
shots he produces just about every week, has enabled Woods to
transcend his sport like few others. His father, Earl Woods, said
last week that Woods would do more for Nike than Michael Jordan
ever did.
“He represents Nike Corp., the whole
brand name,” the father said. “That will increase more
and more as he gets a little older.”
Wood, the Nike Golf president, said that
was “definitely possible.”
“His professional longevity is greater
than Michael's,” Wood said. “Basketball players have
a 15-year career if they're fortunate. Tiger has 24 more majors
to play, just in the time period he is under contract with us.
He has 104 majors left until he gets to the Senior Tour.”
Earlier this year, Woods signed an endorsement
deal with Buick worth $30 million over five years and carries
its logo on his bag. In all, Woods has endorsement contracts with
11 companies.
Earl Woods told Golfweek magazine in February
that his son's net worth had reached more than $150 million. After
his U.S. Open victory in June, several financial analysts said
Woods could become sports' first $1 billion man.
“He's 24. That's the key to this,”
Steinberg said. “He's limitless. He's a transcendent athlete,
finally being recognized as the greatest athlete on the planet.”
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