Tiger Woods has broken up with Nike after a protracted 27-year collaboration with the world’s largest sportwear company, the golf legend announced on Monday.
“Over 27 years ago, I was fortunate to start a partnership with one of the most iconic brands in the world,” Woods wrote on X.
Woods went on to write that “there will certainly be another chapter.”
Nike bid adieu to Woods on Instagram, saying “it was a hell of a round, Tiger.”
“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,” the company added.
Popular Swiss sneaker brand ON Running’s CEO Marc Maurer, addressing speculation following Woods departure at Nike, told an audience at the ICR retailing Conference on Monday that Woods was not signing with the brand.
“We hope he finds a great new partner. It’s not going to be us,” Maurer told the gathering.
Woods’ deal with Nike has been reported to be worth as much as $20 million a year at one time. He has signed multiple deals with the company over a span of nearly three decades, including a 10-year deal signed in 2013 that’s worth about $200 million.
Woods is still one of the best known athletes in the country, three times better known by the general public than the average athlete, according to surveys by Q Score.
And while positive opinions of him are down from his heyday among the general public, sports fans still have a more positive view of him than the average athlete, according to the Q Score surveys.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
–CNN’s Chris Isidore contributed
Read the full article here