Tiger Woods Split From Nike Sets Him Up For His Apparel Script ...

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 14: Tiger Woods (L) of the United States celebrates on the 18th green after ... [+] winning the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 14, 2019 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

The rumors were swirling for weeks, but we finally got confirmation, that after 27 years Tiger Woods’ partnership with Nike NKE was over.

The golfer had reportedly earned over $500 million during the duration of the deal but it wasn’t the lengthiest player/brand tie up in golf history. That honor belongs to Gene Sarazen who signed on as a Wilson Sporting Goods staffer in 1923 with the contract lasting until he passed away 75 years later.

“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,” Tiger tweeted to announce what seems ostensibly to be an amicable split.

“People will ask if there is another chapter. Yes, there will certainly be another chapter,” the 15-time major championship winner added.

For Nike’s part, they wistfully marked the end of an era on Instagram by posting a classic shot of Tiger wearing his Sunday red polo and black pants with the copy: “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,” read the caption.

Odds are we will probably have to wait until Tiger’s next tour stop, the Genesis Invitational in February, to find out the logo and the brand that will next be emblazoned on Woods’ chest. Could he follow his son Charlie, strongly speculated to be signing on as a brand ambassador with Greyson Clothiers after sporting the Detroit based label during the PNC Championship? PGA Tour players currently on that growing roster include Justin Thomas, Erik Van Rooyen, Sam Ryder and Akshay Bhatia.

The official spin is that Tiger decided to not renew his contract with the Beaverton, Oregon based sportswear behemoth. However, reading between the lines suggests that the renewal offer fell short of what he believed aligned with his fair market value.

“While, I have no crystal ball to say certainly what happened, I would suspect that with all the changes that have been announced at Nike, and the fact that Nike has been steadily decreasing their investment in golf, they just didn’t offer him enough to stay with them,” Anjali S. Bal, an associate professor of marketing at Babson College, commented.

Nike exited the golf equipment business eight years ago and now seem to be winnowing down their apparel ambassador stable with Australian star Jason Day leaving for Malbon ahead of The Sentry.

Bal also noted that while Tiger’s relevance to golf has waned from his peak years, Nike’s continued fondness for an athlete who represented their brand for a generation is readily apparent.

“Nike clearly valued the relationship, or they wouldn’t have said goodbye in such a fashion. Typically, when Nike parts ways with an athlete there isn’t a lot of commentary from Nike about the split,” she added.

When the news first broke earlier today Bal predicted On Running would be a logical fit but after CEO Marc Maurer dispelled that notion, she feels Tiger will leverage his stardom to start his own apparel brand.