The major thought from Tiger Woods’ abrupt bail out from the Honda Classic. Why does Nike still stand by their man?
If you are Nike and you’re paying Tiger Woods around $20 million per year, aren’t you expecting him to win a major at some point during the life of that contract?
Is this the right marketing strategy?
It doesn’t look good that the No. 1 golfer in the world, as well as your No. 1 pitchman, bowed out of the tournament citing injury.
We all remember the Thanksgiving Day crash, followed by one salacious story/rumor after another coming out of every corner of the world. Tiger not only wrecked his family but his endorsement power.
In 2010, five major endorsers parted ways with Tiger. Nike stood by him, as it’s done with a number of other athletes who haven’t exactly performed well off the field through the years.
I keep questioning why massive conglomerates like Nike and Rolex continue their relationships with Tiger. What benefit do they get from a guy who hasn’t won a major in five years?
Sure, Tiger has won tournaments in the past few years, but these aren’t the top tier ones. For instance, raise your hand if you remember his two stroke victory in the Cadillac Championship last year?
This isn’t all about coming up short in majors, lest we forget his outbursts in the tee box, on the green, or after a chip shot.
But you know what? Within those blow-ups, that Nike swoosh is in plain sight on a hat or the breast plate of his shirt. Those tantrums don’t exactly make me want to head to the local sporting goods store and buy the product.
Nike also has him working with its design team and engineers on creating clubs. Sorry but why am I going to buy clubs with which Tiger Woods can’t even win a major?
The better question is, does Tiger know how to win a major anymore? Five years of not standing atop the podium is a long time in sports. Just ask Tom Brady.
And in 2010, Nike signed Tiger to a contract extension. Tiger will be 39 in December and has battled back injuries for a few years now. Is he the right choice for a company to have caddy for them, so to speak?
Unless Tiger quells his losing streak, Nike won’t get the return on their investment they are looking for, and let’s be honest, golf isn’t really their prime sport.
Feels like Nike has duck hooked this one into the water.
