A year away from golf would cost Tiger Woods $180 million in lost endorsements, tournament winnings and appearance fees — about $15 million per floozy, industry analysts estimate.
In an announcement that stunned the golf world, Woods said on Friday he was withdrawing indefinitely from the game to try and mend his broken marriage to his betrayed wife, Elin Nordegren.
The superstar swinger has earned an estimated $1 billion over his career, but his financial future is now at stake. Sponsors are jittery now that Woods’ extramarital harem has swelled to at least a dozen reported paramours.
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Woods earns about $110 million a year in endorsements — the most lucrative being a $30 million deal with Nike. While the sports apparel giant has continued to support him, other corporate partners are distancing themselves from the iconic athlete.
The last time Woods was seen in a prime-time TV commercial was on Nov. 29, in a Gillette ad that aired two days after a bizarre car crash outside Woods’ Florida mansion sparked the scandal. The dazed golfer was injured in the collision following a late-night argument with his wife over his affairs.
Gillette yesterday said it will phase Woods out of its ads while he’s on hiatus. AT&T said it was “evaluating its ongoing relationship with him.” Business services consulting giant Accenture, which has built its marketing campaign around Woods, yanked him from its Web site yesterday.
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Analysts said his contracts likely contain a “morality clause” that allows sponsors to walk if Woods engages in bad behavior. And now that he’s out of the public eye and unable to push products, associating with the Woods name alone might not be worth the risk, they said.
“From a sponsorship perspective, there is no doubt in my mind there is an existing morals clause that can be triggered right now,” said Michael Neuman, president of Amplify Sports and Entertainment.
Tiger’s pause could also cost him $30 million in fees for three golf courses he’s helping design.
His absence means lost prize money and appearance fees. He won $23 million in tournaments in 2007, his last full season. He has also raked in as much as $17 million a year just for showing up at minor events.
The disappearing act would also devastate the industry, costing an estimated $591 million in losses, with Nike the biggest loser.
“Of all his partners, they have the toughest decision to make,” Neuman said.
Retail sales of the company’s golf line — estimated at $1.3 billion and largely built around Woods — could plummet 35 percent, or $455 million, in his absence, according to experts.
It may also be game over for EA Sports, whose video game “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09” features the superstar on its cover and has sold 1.9 million copies, earning $96 million.
The PGA Tour will also take a hit. Experts estimate Tiger increases ticket sales by 25 percent at the nearly 20 tournaments he plays a year. That translates into a $40 million loss in ticket sales, experts said.
A fan backlash is already being felt locally.
“The shame of what he did will definitely affect the business,” said Mohmed Mahbub, a salesman at New York Golf Center at Chelsea Piers. “I have a kid, and he used to say, ‘I want to be Tiger Woods.’ But now I’m not telling him to say that any more.”
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What Tiger Woods and golf stand to lose in 2010 amid the sex scandal and subsequent hiatus:
$180 MILLION IN PERSONAL EARNINGS, INCLUDING:
$110 million in advertising income, if sponsors rebel and dump contracts
$23 million in tournament prize money (roughly the amount he won in his last full season on the PGA Tour and abroad)
$30 million in fees for three golf courses he’s designing, if deals fall through
$17 million in appearance fees (equal to his best year for showing up to play minor events)
$591 MILLION IN INDUSTRY LOSSES, INCLUDING:
$455 million in losses to his Nike-endorsed golf brand, based on estimated 35 percent sales decline
$40 million in lost PGA Tour ticket sales, based on a predicted 25 percent loss at 20 Woods-attended tourneys
$96 million if the Woods-brand EA Sports golf video game goes down the tubes
Additional reporting by Margaret Eby