FORMER WORLD number one golfer Tiger Woods has signed a long-term agreement with Swiss watchmaker Rolex in his first major endorsement deal since revelations about his personal life left his professional and commercial career in tatters.
The deal, reported to be over a five-year period, is valued by Frontiers at around $1m per year – significantly less than the type of fee Woods demanded prior to his spiral down the world rankings to number 51.
The handiwork of Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg, who recently made a high profile move from IMG World to Excel Sports Management, the deal represents a rekindling of the relationship between Woods and Rolex which ended after five years in 2002 when the star defected to rival watchmaker TAG Heuer in a deal worth $2m per year.
TAG Heuer, along with Gillette, AT&T, Accenture and Gatorade, is the latest brand to drop Tiger Woods from its sponsorship roster, drastically reducing his annual endorsement earnings which once totalled $100m.
Nike, who pay Woods around $20m per year, and Electronic Arts (EA Sports) are the only two brands to have kept fait with the golfer, although it is no coincidence these are the only two brands to have designed and launched products with the golf star at their centre and likely to be most negatively affected by dissociation.
Tiger Woods, who remains the world’s richest athlete despite his loss of support, will be hoping for more of the same from agent Steinberg who is promising an announcement of a deal for the star’s golf bag in the next six weeks.
Woods’ endorsement deal with Rolex will take effect from January 2012.