Tiger Woods: The Nike Brand. The Nike Good, the Nike Bad, the U.S. Amateur, and the FootJoy Story of Woods
Woods replied, “I’m still wearing their product” when asked if his deal with Nike was over.
The most recent 10-year agreement between Woods and Nike was reportedly worth about $200 million, but perhaps the most enduring legacy of the partnership was the advertisements.
In his message, Woods wrote that he was fortunate to begin a partnership with one of the most respected brands in the world. “The days since have been filled with so many amazing moments and memories, if I started naming them, I could go on forever.”
Woods signed a five-year deal worth 40 million dollars when he turned pro in 1996. The U.S. Amateur title is not open to the general public. The industry at the time was shocked by the amount of money.
“Tiger, you challenged your competition, stereotypes, conventions, the old school way of thinking,” the Nike post was captioned. “You challenged the entire institution of golf. You had a challenge for us. And most of all, you. We’re grateful for that challenge.
“Chump change,” the late Earl Woods once said, and he was proven correct. The agreement was believed to be worth over $100 million in 2000. As recognizable as any athlete in the world, Woods became the face of Nike Golf and had his own “TW” brand.
The second-longest winning streak in majors among players with 15 is held by Woods, who has won at least one majors in all but two of his career. But he has been slowed in recent years by five back surgeries, shattered ligaments in his rebuilt left knee, the 2021 car crash and age. At the close of last year, he was 48.
There were some signs of a broken relationship in recent years. Woods returned from his February 2021 car crash that shattered bones in his right leg by wearing FootJoy shoes, saying it was a better feel considering his injuries.
The 30-second spot shows Tiger juggling the golf ball with his club before hitting the ball into the distance. It wasn’t the commercial the marketing team had planned that day, and they stumbled on it by accident as Woods was playing around during lunch break — just another day of being Tiger Woods.
The company still has a stable of golf players, including the world’s No. 1 player who wears a “TW” brand shoe.
Eric Smallwood, president of Apex Marketing Group, said that the partnership was unique. They made this exclusive with their golf team to be an exclusive sponsor.
We look back at some of the best ads to commemorate the 15-time major championship-winner’s mark on sports history, and one of the most famous brand relationships of all time.
Tiger Woods: Is he like to play a golfer or a basketball player? A game in which Woods’s mind is inspired by art
“You don’t really instill anything into a child. He said you encourage the growth of it. “But I would do all kinds of things to mess him up.” He talks about the special tactics he’d use to challenge his son’s mental toughness on the playing field, such as dropping a bag of clubs right as Tiger is about to swing.
“It’s crazy to think a 43-year-old who has experienced very high and every low, and has just won his 15th major, is chasing the same dream as a 3-year-old,” the ad states. A video ends with a speech by Woods in which he says that he would like to beat Jack Nicklaus when he’s older.
In one of the more dramatic advertisements from his partnership with Nike, Woods — wearing all black — swings his club in slow motion, ambient music building as he shows off his range of motion. The game imitates art.