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Running head: CASE STUDY: BILLION-DOLLAR ATHLETE

Case Study on Tiger Woods: The First Billion-Dollar Athlete

Allison N. Henson

Western Kentucky University

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CASE STUDY: BILLION-DOLLAR ATHLETE

Abstract

Tiger Woods has been a constant in the spotlight for his athletic abilities since he was two years

old. His strategy on the course and off have catapulted him into billionaire status, thanks to his

multiple million dollar deals with Nike, EA Sports, and Buick to name a few. Thanks to his

agent, Mark Steinberg of IMG, the professional golfer has been praised and for his business

dealings and use of his image worldwide, but recent events have casted a dull light on the Tiger

Woods’ empire. In this study, we will talk about Tiger Woods’ image and how it has evolved

from the beginning (1996-2008) to now; his relationship with Nike; how Mark Steinberg crafted

Woods’ image; and describe the “Tiger effect” and decide if it still has an impact today.

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Company Profile

In order to describe Tiger Wood’s history and the sponsorships deals, I will divide this

section into three parts: The Beginning, The End, and Sponsorships. The Beginning will cover the

years 1996-2008 and The End will cover the years 2008-2017 describing the history of Tiger

Wood’s career successes and downfalls. These sections will be more in-depth and descriptive.

Sponsorships will list a few These sections have been created to help examine the successful

business ventures, as well as provide a nice transition to discuss Woods’ “Business Situation”

where we will discuss his recent downfall and how his brand just might save and provide him

with a comeback.

The Beginning

Tiger Woods has a long and generally successful history regarding his business and

marketing deals made during the beginning of his golfing career. Before his 1996 debut, Woods

was the “youngest athlete to win the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship” (Laucella, 2010).

After dropping out of Stanford, Woods became the first African American since 1985 to earn his

PGA Tour card, and was named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 1996. That same

year, Tiger Woods signed two multi-million dollar deals with Nike and Titleist. Three years

later, Woods signed a long-term endorsement contract with Buick, featuring the car company’s

logo on his golfing bag.

The next couple of years were filled with success and big wins for the professional golfer.

By 2000, Woods had won eleven tournaments; he teamed up with David Duval to win the World

Cup team title for the United States. He was named Male Athlete of the Year for the third time

by Associated Press, and also PGA player of the Year (Laucella, 2010). In 2001, Woods tapped

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into a different market by publishing an article in Golf Digest titled How I Play Golf: A Master

Class with the World’s Greatest Golfer. This partnership between the magazine and Woods

would live on for years to come. In 2007, Woods signs the biggest deal of his career—a five-year

$100 million-dollar contract—with Gatorade; it is also said to have been Tiger Woods’ first

licensing agreement.

It was by 2008 when the up-hill success started to take a slight turn for the worst for

Tiger Woods. Woods goes on to win four out of six PGA events, including the U.S. Open

(Laucella, 2010), but the downfall started with his season-ending injury in June of 2008: a torn

anterior cruciate ligament and double stress fracture. This injury began The End of the world’s

greatest golfer’s career.

The End

Despite his amazing career, Tiger Woods has experience some incredible setbacks from

the mid-2008 to the present 2017 year. After winning the U.S. Open, Woods received

reconstructive surgery on his left knee. The operation took him out of the competitive playing

field for a total of nine months. When he returned to the 2009 PGA, he was beaten by Y.E.

Yang, and unfortunately hasn’t won a major since. Later that year, Woods was involved in a car

accident that revealed very personal issues and extramarital affairs—he cheated on his wife with

13 other women (Diaz, 2009). Those revelations were deemed so “scandalous”, Woods was

required to make a “high profile public apology” which resulted in an extended hiatus from

competitive golf (Golf Digest, 2017).

During this time, some of Tiger Woods’ sponsorships decided to leave the player to fend

for himself and cancel their association with the golfer. In 2009, his partnerships with AT&T and

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Gatorade ended, though Gatorade claimed to make their decision to discontinue “Gatorade

Tiger” just days before the accident. Gillette was the first to make a statement, saying they would

“limit the golfer’s presence in its print, television, and online ads” (Diaz, 2009), but the company

made it clear that they were not severing ties with Woods. During all of negative press, Nike

stood strong and backed Tiger Woods, but a survey was released by Argyle Executive Forum

that stated “76 percent of marketers…would cancel, reduce, or suspend their business

relationship with Woods” (Diaz, 2009). Despite all of setbacks, Woods’ became the first athlete

to reach $1 billion in careering earnings (Badenhausen, 2009)—things were looking good.

In 2013 when Woods came back and was named Player of the Year, but was soon

confronted by more health issues; this time it was his back. Woods underwent back surgery in

2014 and missed The Masters for the first time in his career. Woods has two more surgeries in

2015, and didn’t play competitively for more than a year. Tiger Woods gave hope to golf fans

around the world when he returned in 2016, but those hopes would soon die when Woods

withdrew himself from the Dubai Desert Classic due to back spasms. The golfer found out he

needed another surgery that would sideline him for six months (Golf Digest, 2017).

Just when things couldn’t get worse, in 2017 Tiger Woods was arrested for the suspicion

of driving under the influence when he was found asleep in his car. Woods later revealed that his

unusual behavior was the fault of an “unexpected reaction” to prescription medication (Gleeson,

2017). Fans believed the career of their beloved golfer was over, but in October, Tiger Woods

confirmed he would return to competitive golf. Woods announced the news on Twitter after

weeks of tweeting videos him looking good on the golf course that he will play in the Hero’s

World Challenge in late November of this year (Golf Digest, 2017).

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Sponsorships

Tiger Woods’ name and image has been associated with many products during his career.

Unfortunately, some of those sponsorship deals have considered backing away after recent

scandals and lack of playing time, but the professional golfer is still considered one of “the

greatest” players to enter the golfing world—his net worth has grown $40 million since his

downfall in 2008 (Strohm, 2017).That being said, many of the sponsorship deals made during

“the beginning” of Woods’ career have been cancelled due to numerous personal setbacks. Here

are a few brands that sponsored Tiger Woods:

• Nike Golf—company’s golf subsidiary; has been with the company since its beginning in

1996; This partnership is still ongoing though Nike has discontinued its’ golf unit.

• AT&T—sponsored the annual PGA Tour; Woods hosted. In 2009, AT&T announced it

would no longer be sponsoring Woods.

• Gillette—used Wood’s image in their campaign “Gillette Champions”. Due to personal

issues, the company scaled back their use of the golfer’s image, but didn’t drop him completely.

• EA Sports—partnered with Woods to create the video game hit “Tiger Woods PGA

Tour”.

• Golf Digest—a golfing magazine that Woods occasionally give golfing tips. Was

featured on the 2010 cover with then president Barrack Obama, giving golfing tips.

• Buick—partnership lasted ten years (1999-2009) and was worth at least $7 million

dollars (boston.com); Buick’s logo would be displayed on Wood’s golfing bag during

tournaments.

• TAG Heuer—Woods teamed up with the watch company to design golf watches, which

is tailored specifically to the needs of professional golf.

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• Gatorade—the drink company produced “Gatorade Tiger” that featured the golfer’s name

and likeness. At the time, the deal was estimated at $100 million, but the drink has been

discontinued. This decision came two days before the infamous car accident.

Tiger Woods has created a golf course design company—TGR Design—and has

designed courses in Dubai, Mexico, Huston, and North Carolina. Each course is “guided by the

unique vision of Tiger Woods” and is created to be fun, yet challenging for players of all levels

(TGR Design, n.d.). Woods also has a trading card through Upper Deck, a company that creates

collectible sport trading cards for athletes like Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant. On his website,

Tiger Woods list TLC Laser Eye Center as a sponsor; the professional golfer used their services

to help correct his nearsightedness.

Woods’ recent endorsements include Full Swing—a golf stimulator company—made in

2015. Though it’s not listed on his website, Woods signed a $1-million-dollar deal with Rolex,

and signed a deal with TaylorMade Golf in January since Nike had disposed of their golf unit.

Woods also has a deal with Bridgestone Golf worth close to $2-million a year. Most golfers use

Titleist golf balls (a company that sponsored Woods until 2000). This deal is schedule to last a

couple of years.

Overall, Woods’ rollercoaster career has still made him one of the richest athletes in the

world; he was the “12th-highest paid athlete in 2016”. Unfortunately, this once “Billion-Dollar

Athlete” is now worth around $740 million according to Forbes (Wile, 2017). Back in 2008, the

professional golfer was estimated to be making around $100 million annually; he now makes

about half that (Badenhausen, 2009). So what does this all mean for the greatest golfer in the

world? Can his star image bring his career back from the dead and earn Woods the title of

“Billion-Dollar Athlete”? If history repeats itself, then yes.

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Business Situation

“Tiger Woods’ is the quintessential pitchman” (Laucella, 2010), meaning he was the

perfect and ideal candidate when it came to endorsement deals. He is a global athlete—people

from around the world know and recognize the power of Tiger Woods’ name and image. He has

endorsed an array of products—he’s image has become diverse, inclusive, and has a strong

commercial value not only in the U.S. but around the world. Lastly, Woods has become one of

the most popular athletic images. He’s the Michael Jordan of golf, meaning his greatness has

become the benchmark; he has become the epitome of professional golfers. These facts are the

reasons why Tiger Woods’ brand and image had a billion-dollar price tag on them, but the duo

has taken huge and repetitive hits since 2009.

Woods and his IMG agent, Mark Steinberg, were great partners when it came to making

Tiger Woods a “transcendent sport celebrity and meticulously managed marketing and mediated

icon” (Laucella, 2010). The biggest problem Woods faced during his career was called the

“Tiger Effect”—it’s the fear that people will not watch golf or purchase Wood’s products if he is

injured or not playing. His popularity had such a strong and powerful impact on TV ratings and

endorsement deals, that when Woods was injured in 2008, the PGA and his sponsors almost

suffered. His present alone during the 1997 Masters increased viewership like no other—his

“victory had a 14.1 Sunday TV rating, which helped the PGA secure a lucrative TV deal with

CBS, NBC, and the Golf Channel” (Laucella, 2010). So, when Woods was injured, his endorsers

began to panic.

Steinburg claimed most of Woods’ sponsorships were based on entertainment rather than

golf, suggesting that Woods’ absence could cause major harm because it impacted more than just

golf. This effect caused the golf industry to think of ways to still stay relevant without the

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presence of Woods, which led to the creation of the FedEx Cup—a playoff system that “balanced

out ratings in tournaments minus Woods” (Lauclla, 2010).

Today, the biggest challenged facing Wood’s brand is his lack of response to his short-

comings. From 2009 to present day, Woods has been struggling to accept the many setbacks that

presented themselves as health issues and extramarital problems. His behavior, lack of

acknowledgment (he only made one public apology), and hiatus from the sport portrays an image

of indifference; the opposite from his strong, powerful, epitome of excellence persona he created

before. Pamela C. Laucella ends her case study by describing Tiger Woods as a “sports hero with

his legendary golf swing, fighting spirit, strong work ethic, and shrewd marketing acumen”

(Laucella, 2010). These last few years would paint a different picture of Woods.

If Tiger Woods wanted a comeback, the only way it could happen is if Woods and his

agent addressed the challenges Woods’ brand has faced since 2008. So far, the professional

golfer has done very little to repair the damage done during the last decade. It hasn’t affected his

financial situation too much, be he’s no longer considered the “Billion-Dollar Athlete”. If we

look at Woods’ branding strategy during 1996 to 2008, we might find the answer as to how

Woods’ can rebrand and comeback to competitive golf strong as ever.

Branding Strategy

Laucella spends a great amount of time in the case study describing the greatness of Tiger

Wood’s branding strategy. Wood’s image was “meticulously crafted” to fit perfectly with the

sport of golf and its audience (Laucella, 2010). Tiger Woods had a broad array of product

endorsements. This may not seem like a big deal, but by endorsing many different products—

some relating to golf and some not—made Wood’s image universal, flexible, and inclusive; but

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that didn’t mean Woods worked with everyone. His agent, Mark Steinburg, was creative and

smart when it came to managing Woods. He was selective when it came Wood’s endorsement

deals, “minimizing overexposure and maximizing impact” (Laucella, 2010). It was Woods’

partnership with Nike that really put the golfer on the road to billionaire status.

Nike’s vision is clear through the marketing efforts, and when working with Woods, the

sport apparel company made numerous ad campaigns that engrained Woods into the “cultural

fabric of contemporary society” (Laucella, 2010). These ads include “Hello World”, “I Am Tiger

Woods”, “Hacky Sack”, and “Never”. These ads evoke emotion and really drive the audience to

care and feel connect to Tiger Woods and the Nike brand. And it worked.

Woods is also known for being very hands-on with his endorsement products. It was said

that Woods would have weekly meetings with Nike to discuss Nike Golf products which

included footwear, apparel, balls, and clubs. When he partnered with EA Sports to create a PGA

video game, Woods worked “tirelessly with designers until the video game bearing his name had

a golf swing that was realistic enough to be his own” (Laucella, 2010). This active approach to

his endorsement showed fans and consumers how dedicated and driven Woods was when it came

to high line with Nike and the products they were producing. In return, it drove people to

consume his high quality products. Tiger Woods helped Nike create a clothing line that was

more prestigious and high-end, like most golf apparel, than their normal sport clothes.

By 2008, Tiger Woods’ Q-scores ranked Woods number 2 and Michael Jordan number 1

(respectfully). These scores revealed the power of Woods’ brand and just how well his agent

guided him through million-dollar endorsement deals during his career. His image brought more

fans and more money to the PGA franchise and its player than any other golfer to date. Woods

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overall strategy has brought him much success. He radiated excellence and hard work, and

endorsed products that carried that same image (Nike, Buick, Rolex, etc.).

Results

As a result of his branding strategy, Tiger Woods has become a global phenomenon and

celebrity who made history not only in the sport world, but in business and in life. The pursuit of

global excellence worked well for Woods in the past, and is an image I strongly believe he

should try to emulate again as he prepares for another comeback. What I think really made Tiger

Woods stand out was his intense dedication for sport; he was the product of hard work,

dedication, and passion. He showed the world that excellence can be achieved if you worked

really hard and never gave up.

He became a global athlete, known worldwide for his hands-on involvement in his sport

and the products he helped create. Woods knew, or at least his agent did, that the products he

endorsed were just as important as the brand he exuded himself. By being selective and only

working with the highest quality of brands—like Nike, Buick, and Rolex—Tiger Woods

displayed an image that was prestigious and classic. He wasn’t merely a professional golfer, but

the greatest golfer in the world (at the time). His products had to project that image as well.

Unfortunately, this type of strategy may not work for Woods now. The golfer is in

desperate need of a rebranding and has to go into damage control. His hiatus from the

competitive field has, in my opinion, hurt him more than the setback he’s experienced. In this

new age of social media and always being “on” or available, Tiger Woods needs to understand

that fans now need for their athletes to be honest with them and open about their obstacles and

problems on and off the course. Woods has made several comeback attempts in the past that has

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resulted in so-so performances, health issues, and personal setbacks. These attempts could have

hindered his chance of fully making a true comeback because his fans are used to him coming

back and failing in the past.

If he wants to do it right, Tiger Woods needs to remind his fans of his excellence and

incredible athletic ability. He needs to play up on the fans’ emotions, retell them his own story,

being honest about his short-comings, and show them that despite the setbacks, anyone can come

back stronger than ever. He needs define this second chance different than ones from his past.

Like I said above, he needs to be more open with his fans through social networking sites. Just

this past month, Woods released video clips of himself looking good on the course as a way to

tease his fans of a possible return to competitive golf. It was only by the end of October that

Woods announced his return. That type of strategy works when creating a comeback, but to keep

fans interested past the Hero World Challenge Woods is going to have to address his hiatus and

recent DUI arrest. If he does that, on top of the strategies he used while he was successful (1996-

2008), Tiger Woods could make a strong, solid comeback and remind the world just how great

he truly it.

Overall, Tiger Woods has become the benchmark of athlete sponsorships and branding.

Even with a decade worth of setbacks, Tiger Woods is still worth more than half a billion dollars.

Despite being out of the spotlight for several years, Woods’ image can still generate a following.

Though he is no longer a “Billion-Dollar Athlete”, his image is still worthy of the price tag. In

the future, I think we will see more of Tiger Woods and be reminded of his greatness. Athletes

like him never back down, and his fans want to see him comeback and claim the title of “greatest

golfer in the world”, and sometimes a fan push is enough to make it happen.

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Key Takeaways

Based on the book and my own analysis over Tiger Woods’ brand, I think there are

several key concepts that could lead to branding success. I was extremely fascinated by the

selective process Woods’ agent, Mark Steinburg, went through when guiding Woods through

endorsement deals. I truly believe that it’s because of Wood’s agent that we now see extravagant

licensing agreements and endorsement deals. Woods was also the first athlete who made the

products endorsed just as lavish and prestigious as golf and athlete himself. It’s obvious that

every celebrity or athlete needs to be selective and particular when it comes to endorsing a

product, but the idea of cater your products you fit your image, making them work hand in hand,

is a brilliant business idea that clearly works wonders.

Another concept one can learn from Woods’ brand would be the power of emotion. Tiger

Woods made it cool to classy again. His campaign ads exuded excellence, strength, and nostalgia

while staying classy in a way only golf can be. Woods and his agent really worked hard to create

an image that produced so much emotion in his fans. Supporters of golf and the athlete loved to

see him win and become the greatest golfer in the world. Tiger Woods used that emotion and put

in all his endeavors, which in return peaked the interests of the consumer.

Tiger Woods’ brand also taught us that popularity can be a negative as well as a positive.

The “Tiger effect” was an interesting concept that I took as a double edge sword. It basically

states that Woods was too popular for his own good. Deemed the greatest, Woods was never

allowed to mess up or be absent from any golf-related event. His injuries hurt him more than the

average athlete because they didn’t just affect his playing abilities but the events and partnerships

he was a part of.

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We can learn a lot from Woods’ brand. Most importantly, we can learn that every brand

can be damages. Though Tiger Woods was known as the greatest golfer in the world and as the

“Billion-Dollar Athlete”, his brand is now almost silent—still there but not newsworthy.

Through Woods’ missteps, we can learn that sometimes laying low is a big mistake. I think

Wood’s hiatus teaches marketers that being open and honest with your audience is always better

than being quiet and indifferent. Acknowledge the obstacles and act accordingly. The public

nowadays really react well to that.

Works Cited

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Badenhausen, K. (2009, September 29). Sports' First Billion-Dollar Man. Retrieved from

Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/2009/09/29/tiger-woods-billion-business-sports-

tiger.html#69bd517c6757

Diaz, J. (2009, December 13). Gillette limiting Woods's role in ads. Retrieved from boston.com:

http://archive.boston.com/business/articles/2009/12/13/gillette_limiting_woodss_presenc

e_in_marketing/

Gleeson, S. (2017, May 30). Tiger Woods' sponsors silent after DUI arrest. Retrieved from USA

Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2017/05/30/tiger-woods-sponsors-

silent-after-dui-arrest/102306584/

Golf Digest. (2017, October 17). Tiger Woods' Biggest Setbacks. Golf Digest.

Laucella, P. C. (2010). Tiger Woods: The First Billion-Dollar Athlete. In J. W. Lee, Branded:

Branding In Sport Business (pp. 257-265). Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic

Press.

Strohm, M. (2017, May 31). Tiger Woods' net worth is $740 million. Retrieved from Bankrate:

http://www.bankrate.com/lifestyle/celebrity-money/tiger-woods-net-worth/

TGR Design. (n.d.). Our Approach. Retrieved from TGR Design:

http://tgrdesign.tigerwoods.com

Wile, R. (2017, May 30). Tiger Woods' Earnings Were Down 50% Even Before His DUI Arrest.

Retrieved from time.com: http://time.com/money/4797618/tiger-woods-dui-

endorsements-net-worth/

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