Tiger Woods Becomes Third Billionaire Athlete
Arguably the best golfer to ever pick up a club, Tiger Woods recently made history for an accomplishment off the course.
The 82-time PGA Tour event winner, which is tied for the most of all time with Sam Snead recently joined LeBron James and Michael Jordan as the one of the known athlete billionaires.
According to Forbes, an overwhelming majority of his earnings have come from endorsement deals, which include Gatorade, Monster Energy, TaylorMade, Rolex and his longest and most profitable; Nike. The article explained that just 10% of his earnings are from his winnings from golf.
Here is what one expert explained to Forbes as to how Woods was able to gain such popularity and marketability saying:
“He hit the right time in the right sport, being an athlete with a diverse background who was approachable,” veteran sports business consultant and Columbia lecturer Joe Favorito says. “Brands love knowing they’re getting someone who is embraced not just by the traditional but also by the casual fans.”
Woods has also been involved in other business ventures such as a restaurant, golf training tools, and a luxury form of mini golf known as PopStroke among many other ventures. In total, according to the magazine’s update Woods, he has made around $1.7 billion.
Woods could have become a billionaire in a different way as well, as it was reported by the Washington Post that Woods turned down a deal from the new LIV golf tour that Greg Norman described as a "mind-blowingly enormous; we’re talking about high nine digits.”
Norman is the LIV Golf Investments CEO, responsible for luring golfers from the PGA to play in the Saudi Arabian government backed tour.
Notable players such as Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson have both left the PGA tour in favor of the LIV tour, which has reportedly been paying North of $100-million for some of the more notable golfers.
Woods is fully committed to the PGA as he has expressed he will play in this summer’s Open Championship at St Andrews, and also said he is considering playing in the U.S. Open Championship. This comes after he was forced to pull out of the final round of May's PGA Championship due to soreness from his surgically repaired back and legs.
Regardless of whatever happens in his golf career, he has proven to be one of the most successful athletes on and off the field, or in his case, course.
