Tiger Woods and Nike decided to jump into the football-dominated media cycle today and announce that they were ending their longtime partnership.
“Over 27 years ago, I was fortunate to start a partnership with one of the most iconic brands in the world,” Woods posted in a statement. “The days since have been filled with so many amazing moments and memories, if I started naming them, I could go on forever. Phil Knight’s passion and vision brought this Nike and Nike Golf partnership together and 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!”
It was a surprising move considering how successful and strong the partnership had been. Even when Tiger was going through his darkest moments off the green, Nike stood by him while others abandoned ship.
The pair had re-upped a few times during their time together, including Wood’s most recent 10-year agreement signed in 2013 worth approximately $200 million.
At one time, Woods was Nike from head to toe and club.
But then it slowly changed.
First Nike ended its equipment production in 2016, leading Woods to sign a club deal with TaylorMade and a ball deal with Bridgestone. He retained his brand of apparel and footwear within Nike, but after his 2021 car accident, he started wearing FootJoy.
It was a move Nike accepted.
“As he continues his return, we will work with him to meet his new needs,” wrote Nike about FootJoy.
But that signaled that a Jordan/LeBron lifetime-type deal with Nike wasn’t likely, so an end was likely.
Today, that end was acknowledged by both.
“Tiger, you challenged your competition, stereotypes, conventions, the old school way of thinking. You challenged the entire institution of golf. You challenged us. And most of all, yourself. And for that challenge we’re grateful,” Nike said in a post on IG. “It was a hell of a round, Tiger.”
