No doubt by now you’ve heard something about Tiger Woods in the news.  His wife beat him up because he was cheating on her and he ran his car into a tree or something like that.  It doesn’t really matter what happened to Tiger.  All that matters is that anything that is bad for Tiger, is bad for business.

Think for a second, who is a famous golfer other than Tiger Woods?  If you’re like my mom, The Sheconomist, my dad, or millions of other people, nothing is going to come to you quickly.  I’m not a big golfer, but I know enough about the sport to know some of the top players.  But none of them compare to Tiger.  He transcends golf the way Lance Armstrong transcended cycling.  They took their sports mainstream, and while most still don’t care about the sports, they care about these people, which is good for the sport.

Back in 2008, Woods backed out of the AT&T National, an event he usually hosts and plays in.  Ratings were down 48%.  During the British Open last year, ratings were down 14.6%, Tiger was out due to knee surgery.  Whether you love his play or hate it, people watch to see Tiger.  The more people that watch, the more the networks can charge advertisers. The more they charge, the more the PGA can charge the network for television rights.  The more they charge, the greater the purse money for winning.  Missing Tiger = lost revenues.

Tiger has made something like $100 million from his winnings over the years.  But this doesn’t compare to the money he’s made from endorsements from companies such as: AT&T, EA Sports, Gatorade, Gillette, Nike, Tag Hauer, and others.  He’s basically responsible for the entire Nike Golf brand, which was just a small boutique division of Nike when Tiger was brought on board.

Collectively, Tiger Woods is a billion dollar brand, which puts him ahead of even Michael Jordan. This doesn’t make him a billionaire mind you.  However the man is only 33, and could go another 20 years in this business easily.  He will break $1 billion in net worth without any issue, and probably go higher.

The old idea that all press is good press isn’t true.  These days, your sponsorship deals can get dropped quickly if the public gets a bad image of you.  Tiger shouldn’t have much to worry about, because whatever has gotten him in the news lately is a personal matter.  Tiger Woods is more than just a man, it’s a brand and a business.

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  By 		The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice.

categories: business