Following a 27 year partnership, Tiger Woods and sports manufacturing giant Nike have terminated their brand relationship on Monday.
In a prepared statement on his social media accounts, Woods announced “Over 27 years ago, I was fortunate to start a partnership with one of the most iconic 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. 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!”
While the 48 year old has remained mum on what brands he could partner with moving forward, keen eyed observers have noted that in the limited events he’s taken part in over the last few years, he has been wearing FootJoy golf shoes. No formal agreement has been announced as of yet however.
This past December, Nike announced roughly $2B in cuts over the next three years, including the layoffs of hundreds of employees. Whether the end of the partnership was part of these cost saving manoeuvres or whether Woods initiated it himself remains to be seen. For the time being, both sides are portraying it as an amicable parting of ways in the media.
Nike’s stock price has dropped by a significant margin over the last year and change. Trading as high as $177.51 per share in November of 2021, the share price now sits at $102.59 as the calendar flips to 2024.
Woods hasn’t officially announced when his next PGA Tour event would be. However his reference to LA in his social media post has many assuming that he intends to play at the Genesis at Riviera Country Club which runs February 15-18th. Tiger is one of the tournament hosts, and the event benefits his TGR Foundation.
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.