Nike and Tiger Woods are splitting.
Nike shared an image of Woods on the social media platform Monday, with the sentence, “It was a hell of a round, Tiger” written above him.
“Tiger, you challenged your competition, stereotypes, conventions, the old-school way of thinking. You challenged the entire institution of golf. You challenged us. And most of all, yourself. And for that challenge we’re grateful,” Nike wrote.
Prior to Nike’s post, the golf icon shared a statement of his own on Instagram, addressing his 27-year partnership with the athletic giant. “Phil Knight’s passion and vision brought this Nike and Nike Golf partnership together and I want to personally thank him, along with the Nike employees and incredible athletes I have had the pleasure of working with along the way,” Woods wrote.
“People will ask if there is another chapter. Yes, there will certainly be another chapter. See you in L.A.!” Woods wrote, leading to confused fans in the comments section.
According to sources, Nike remains committed to the golf business and will continue to design, create and sell golf apparel and footwear. The company got out of the golf equipment part of the business in 2016. The company continues to sponsor some of the league’s best players including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau, Nelly Korda and a slew of others.
The Woods news comes at a pivotal time for Nike. The company’s share price has declined some 40 percent since November of 2021 and when it reported its earnings in late December, it said it was planning to cut up to $2 billion over the next three years, would institute layoffs and slashed its annual sales forecast to 1 percent.
Reports began to circulate in December 2023 that Woods could soon part ways with Nike, and that the athletic brand might exit the golf business. The “No Laying Up” golf podcast stated the PNC Championship golf tournament, held from Dec. 14 to 17, could be the last time Woods was represented as a Nike athlete, and that other Nike Golf athletes — including Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka — could also part ways with Nike, and that an apparel brand from a golf equipment manufacturer could be in the works.
At the time of the reports, Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser stated a move like this would harm Nike in a note to investors. “The changes will likely remove Nike’s presence in golf, and will do long-term damage to the brand,” Poser wrote.
At the start of January, Australian professional golfer Jason Day — a former Nike athlete — signed a deal with Malbon Golf.