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Few things in life have been as reliable as watching Tiger Woods playing golf on Sundays, clad in a red shirt with Nike’s familiar swoosh logo. For 27 years, the iconic brand’s partnership with one of the greatest golfers in history minted hundreds of millions of dollars, and eventually, it even catapulted Woods into the ranks of the billion-dollar club.
What is Tiger Woods’ net worth?
As of 2023, Forbes estimates Woods’ fortune to be $1.1 billion, nearly half of which ($500 million) came from Nike alone.
We all knew their relationship wouldn’t last forever, but Nike (NKE) -) was one of the few brands that remained by Woods’ side through his years of ups and downs, punctuated by groundbreaking wins, staggering losses, multiple injuries, and personal controversies.
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Still, it came as somewhat of a surprise on January 8, 2024, when Woods announced on his social media accounts that he was ending his contract with the sportswear brand. The relationship had lasted more than 28 years.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) January 8, 2024
The Nike/Woods deal: Tiger earns $500 million, yet Nike gains more
Woods’ endorsement deals, along with his professional career, began in 1996, when he was just 20. He had won the NCAA golf championship as well as three U.S. Amateur titles before being named Rookie of the Year by the PGA.
Sports Illustrated designated Woods their “Sportsman of the Year” (a distinction he would earn again in 2000), stating “in just two months as a pro, he has completely transformed the sport,” and that wasn’t an understatement. By 1997, Woods would be the #1 ranked golf player in the world — and golf suddenly became cool to play.
Interestingly, while Woods’ cover portrait on Sports Illustrated depicted him wearing a logoless baseball cap, soon, all of his apparel would proudly bear Nike’s insignia, when, on August 27, 1996, Woods signed a five-year sponsorship deal with the company for $40 million, the most lucrative athletic endorsement in history at the time.
Back then, Earl Woods, Tiger’s father, called the figure “chump change.” The father would turn out to be right, as Nike would go on to extend his contract four more times, the last time in 2013 for $200 million.
A timeline of Tiger Woods' contracts with Nike
| Year signed | Length | Amount |
|---|---|---|
1996 |
5 years |
$40 million |
2001 |
5 years |
$100 million |
2006 |
7 years |
$160 million |
2013 |
10 years |
$200 million |
Total |
$500 million |
As Tiger Woods’ wealth skyrocketed, so did Nike’s bottom line. Nike amassed priceless amounts of PR from its partnership with the multiracial golfer, saying "we watched him set records, challenge conventional thinking and inspire generations of people around the globe,” yet they also made a ton of money from him.
Woods wore Nike shoes and apparel exclusively and later competed using their golf clubs and balls. Nike’s revenues more than doubled between 1995 and 1997, from $4.76 billion to $9.19 billion, and the company even launched a separate Nike Golf vertical in 2002. While sales of golf equipment would never match their clothing, Nike Golf generated revenues between $500 and $800 million between 2006 and 2017, according to company annual reports.
Nike's share price rose more than 1,470% during the 27 years-plus of the company's relationship with Woods. Adjusted for four 2-for-1 stock splits and dividends, the total return is closer to 2,000%.
Tiger Woods’ red Nike shirts became a symbol of strength, power, and triumph over adversity; ESPN even conducted a color analysis of the red hues he wore — and for the record, Woods actually won the most tournaments wearing lighter, cerise colors, but he earned the most money donning deeper shades of crimson.
But it wasn’t just Tiger’s image that sold millions; his performances did, too. Woods was known for his incredibly powerful — dare we say charismatic — golf swing that brought a new level of athleticism to the game, and when Woods won the Masters in 2019, his first major victory in 11 years, analysts estimated that Nike had earned $22.5 million in brand exposure in his final round alone, according to Reuters.
Perhaps we all should have seen the writing on the wall when Woods stopped wearing Nike shoes in preference for the Footjoy brand after sustaining major injuries in a 2021 car crash that required adding rods and screws to his leg.
In his farewell announcement, Woods proved that he had learned a few things from his time with Nike’s marketing machines by hinting at “another chapter” … And we look forward to seeing what’s next. Because as we all know, when Tiger Woods gives his all to something, the end result is spectacular.
Tiger Woods’ early earnings: A mountain of quarters
Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods, born on Dec. 30, 1975, to Earl and Kultida Woods, had established himself as a golf phenom by the time he was three, when he played against comedian Bob Hope on “The Mike Douglas Show.” He was featured in a Golf Digest article at age five, and by the time he was eight, he had won his age bracket in the Junior World Golf Championship.
Back then, his only earnings from winnings came in the form of quarters from putting contests.
Woods’ star shone brightly as a teen, amassing scores more wins and receiving recruitment offers from top university golf programs; he chose to attend Stanford, although he left after just two years to play golf professionally.
Woods’ PGA Tour and championship earnings: At least $155 million
At the age of 21, Woods was simply unstoppable. He won the 1997 Masters tournament by an impressive 12 strokes and set a television ratings record in the process. His winnings from The Masters amounted to $486,000.
This was the advent of the “Tiger Effect,” a term coined to describe the impact Woods’ outsized presence had on the sport. During tournaments in which Woods was not in contention, television viewership plunged by as much as 50%. Forbes also attributed the tripling in tournament trophy prize winnings between 1996 and 2008 to the “Tiger Effect.”
According to Golf Digest, Woods’ tournament-related earnings shot skyward after 1996, and surpassed $11 million in 2000, when he won 6 tournaments on the PGA Tour, including the U.S. Open, which came along with a $800,000 paycheck. He won back-to-back Masters tournaments in 2001 and 2002, and he also took first prize in the year’s other big golf tournaments: the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship, a phenomenon that would become known as the “Tiger Slam.”
In 2005, Woods would win the Masters yet again, scoring what is considered one of the most famous shots in golf history: In the final round, he hit a chip shot from the rough on the 16th hole, causing the ball to roll out far out to the left, then, somehow, the ball turned back, rolled down a slope and found the hole, where it lingered for a dramatic pause before falling in. The crowd went nuts. So did television viewers around the world.
“Oh wow!”
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 3, 2018
Tiger Woods’ chip on the 16th hole in 2005 is simply unforgettable. #themasters pic.twitter.com/e45X1HJdn1
Woods took home $11.99 million from tournaments in 2005 and $11.94 million in 2006.
In 2007, his earnings exceeded $22 million from winning the PGA Championship. Although he missed part of the 2008 season due to a knee injury, he still managed to win the U.S. Open. 2009 was another banner year for Woods, taking home $21 million from his performances, including the Presidents Cup, although he failed to place in a major tournament that year.
Tiger Woods’ tournament haul: 1996–2014
| Year | Winnings |
|---|---|
1996 |
$894,060 |
1997 |
$2,380,831 |
1998 |
$2,927,946 |
1999 |
$7,681,625 |
2000 |
$11,034,530 |
2001 |
$7,771,562 |
2002 |
$8,292,188 |
2003 |
$6,700,288 |
2004 |
$6,370,407 |
2005 |
$11,992,739 |
2006 |
$11,941,827 |
2007 |
$22,902,706 |
2008 |
$7,737,626 |
2009 |
$21,015,196 |
2010 |
$2,294,116 |
2011 |
$2,067,059 |
2012 |
$9,124,386 |
2013 |
$12,091,508 |
2014 |
$610,775 |
Total |
$155,831,375 |
In November 2009, reports of Woods’ erratic behavior came to light after his Cadillac Escalade ran into a fire hydrant, a tree, and some bushes near his home at the time in Windermere, Florida. Several tabloid magazines ran stories attributing the crash to an affair Woods was having with Rachel Uchitel, a New York nightclub manager.
In response, Woods released an apology to his family and took responsibility for his actions as well as his marital infidelity. In the days that followed, however, a dozen other women claimed to have had relationships with Woods while he was married, prompting him to announce that he was taking a break from golf.
It was a devastating time for Woods, and it showed in his game. Before the cheating scandal, his net worth was estimated to be around $800 million, yet he only made $2 million per year from PGA appearances in 2010 and 2011, not to mention losing several lucrative endorsement deals in the process, which cost him millions (more below). For the next few years, he tried to restart his golf game but would be plagued by leg injuries.
Ever the comeback kid, Woods rallied in 2012, earning over $9 million from his win at the Farmer’s Insurance Open, as well as his appearances in the Masters, U.S. Open, and British Open. By 2013, he had made $12 million, notching first-place performances at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the Players Championship.
Back injuries defined most of his 2014 season, causing Woods to pull out of several tournaments, including the Masters, which he missed for the first time since 1995. Another back surgery caused him to miss the Masters again the following year — in total he would undergo five surgeries to correct problems in his back, spending much of 2016 and 2017 off the course, although Forbes estimated his net worth had ascended back to $700 million as of 2015.
In April 2017, Woods was found unconscious in his Mercedes-Benz and arrested for driving under the influence. Toxicology reports revealed evidence at the time of five prescription medications, including Vicodin, Xanax, and Ambien. He had hit a new low.
Eventually, Woods’ inexhaustible determination got his career — and his life — back on track. In 2018, he regained his strength and placed second at the PGA Championship. In 2019, at age 43, Woods won the Masters, becoming the second oldest player ever to do so. (Only Jack Nicklaus was older when he won in 1986 at age 46.) Woods' win came with a $2 million paycheck.
Other Tiger Woods endorsement deals: At least $273 million
It’s one thing to excel in sports; it’s another thing entirely to enter the cultural zeitgeist, and that’s just what Tiger Woods did. Woods’ heritage is a mix of Black, Chinese, Dutch, Native American, and Thai descent, and making many people, especially minorities, feel like they could see themselves in his barrier-breaking efforts.
Since he emerged onto the scene in 1996, Woods has remained a firm fixture in pop culture, appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, at awards shows, hosting MTV’s “Total Request Live” and at his charitable foundation’s “Tiger Jam” concerts. In music, Woods was mentioned in more than a dozen songs by rappers like Childish Gambino, Common, Jay-Z, Ice Cube, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Mos-Def, Nas, Nelly, and, perhaps most famously, Chris Rock.
Outside the recording studios, on billboards, television, and later, Internet commercials, Woods’ persona became ubiquitous, thanks to his multi-million-dollar endorsement deals. Here are some of the biggest celebrity deals Woods inked, aside from Nike:
- Electronic Arts had a $105 million contract with Woods between 1998 and 2013 to star in the popular PGA Tour video game series. (Electronic Arts is said to have made $771 million in sales over the period).
- General Motors (GM) -) paid Woods $60 million between 2000 and 2008 to make its Buick line of automobiles cool, especially among younger drivers.
- Titleist gave Woods a five-year, $20 million contract at the beginning of his career to exclusively use Titleist golf balls, golf clubs, and golf bags.
- American Express (AXP) -) paid Woods $13 million over 5 years to join the ranks of their celebrity credit card endorsers, alongside the likes of Jerry Seinfeld.
- Accenture gave Woods a 5-year, $35 million contract to be the face of their “Go on, Be a Tiger” advertising campaign.
- Tag Heuer paid Woods $10 million to collaborate on developing the world’s first professional golf watch, made from titanium.
- Gillette had a $20 million deal with Woods to sell their razors.
In addition, Gatorade and Woods had entered what was purported to be a five-year, $100 million deal in 2007, but it fell through in the wake of Woods’ 2009 marital scandal. Gillette and Accenture also cut ties with Woods, among several other companies.
In total, Woods is estimated to have lost $50 million in endorsements following the revelation of his numerous infidelities, but according to Harvard Business Review, his sponsors were the even bigger losers. In the 10-to-15 trading days in the wake of the scandal, their combined market caps plunged a total of 2%, amounting to as much as $12 billion in losses.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Tiger Woods’ ex-wife’s net worth: A cool $200 million
You could say that Woods’ beleaguered wife, Elin Nordegren, was one of the few winners from his cheating scandal, despite the fact that her marriage was irrevocably broken. Forbes estimates that Nordegren received a $100 million settlement from Woods as part of their 2010 divorce. The former model and nanny met Woods through a mutual friend in 2001; they married in 2004 and had two children, Sam and Charlie.
After finalizing their divorce, Nordegren earned a degree in psychology from Rollins College with a 3.96 GPA and delivered the Commencement address to her graduating class. She dated billionaire Chris Cline for four years from 2013 to 2017 before entering into a relationship with NFL tight end Jordan Cameron in 2019. The couple have one child together, a son named Arthur.
Nordegren is said to have invested a lot of her settlement, including purchasing a mansion in North Palm Beach Florida for $12 million, which she sold in 2018 for $28 million. Celebrity net worth websites peg her current fortune in the ballpark of $200 million.
Tiger Woods’ caddies: Additional millions of worth
Even Woods’ caddies make bank. It’s generally assumed that professional golfers share a small percentage of their winnings with their caddies, who do way more than just carry equipment. Often they serve as confidants, providing information and cool-headed wisdom to golfers during their moments under pressure.
Steve Williams, Wood’s first caddie, is estimated to have made $12 million from his decade working for Woods. He was fired by Woods after a disagreement in 2011, after which Woods went on to hire his current caddy, Rob McNamara. Websites peg his net worth at $9 million.
Tiger Woods Foundation revenues: $22 million in 2022
In 1996, Tiger Woods started the TGR Foundation, a charitable foundation aimed at providing resources and STEM educational opportunities to underserved young people. One of its notable events, “Tiger Jam,” is a weekend-long celebration of golf and music held in Las Vegas. It has raised $22 million for the TGR Foundation since its inception.
The foundation reported revenues of $22 million in its fiscal year 2022.
Carlos Marino/FilmMagic
Tiger Woods’ real estate portfolio: $75–$100 million
According to Architectural Digest, in 2013, Woods sold his 8,000 square-foot waterfront mansion in Windermere, Florida, for $2.2 million to his friend, golfer Bubba Watson.
Woods currently resides in a 12-acre mega mansion in Jupiter that boasts 9,700 square feet of living space, a golf studio, oxygen therapy chamber, multiple pools, and a guest house. He spent $54 million at the time to build it; today, it’s valued between $75 million and $100 million.
He also bought two adjacent lots in Jupiter, one for his mother at $2.4 million, as well as a house for his father at $1.31 million.
It’s unclear whether he still owns the condo in Newport Beach, CA, that he purchased in the early 2000s, or the vacation home in Jackson Hole, WY, that he bought with Nordegren in 2005. In addition, in 2010, Woods invested in a resort in the Bahamas designed for the super-rich, a 600-acre community called Albany on the island of New Providence.
Of course, it has a golf course.
Tiger Woods’ toys: $74 million
Woods knows how to make an entrance. He bought a mega yacht, “Privacy” for $20 million in 2004. It has five bedrooms spread out over three floors, along with an observation tower, jacuzzi, gym, wet bar, and even a decompression chamber for scuba diving. Woods is rumored to sleep there before golf championships.
And just how does Woods get to his games? In a $54 million Gulfstream G550 jet, of course. It transports him to his tournaments in style, along with 17 other passengers.
Augusta National via Getty Images
Why was Tiger Woods so great?
Woods’ talent was undeniable, but exactly why he transcended other players to become arguably the greatest player golf has ever known is an oft-discussed topic.
In 2018, as Woods recovered from yet another back surgery, Golf Digest sat down with a few of the game’s other living legends, now retired, to discuss just what Woods meant to the game.
Their answers were surprising because each player picked a different strength — so you could say it was the sum of his many talents that helped to define Tiger Woods’ greatness:
- Jack Nicklaus said Woods “knew what needed to be done” to make the great shots happen — like he did during the 2003 Presidents Cup, in a sudden death matchup with another great, Ernie Els.
- Gary Player talked about Woods’ physicality, the sense of serenity he conveyed, as though he were destined for great things, and his ability to make shots under pressure.
- Lee Trevino said it was the way Woods dissected and perfected his swing — he was almost “too good” for his own good.
- Johnny Miller talked about Woods’ uncanny skill to become a better putter when it mattered most. (Many pros develop what’s known as the “yips” and choke under pressure, especially when putting.)
- Nick Faldo said Woods had a phenomenal ability to prepare well for each tournament; he approached every shot as though it were the final round. He was also able to convert the incredible amount of attention that was focused on him into energy that drove him ahead.
Players and fans weren’t the only ones who noticed something special about Woods — Madison Avenue did too, augmenting his wealth into billion-dollar-territory, a league he shares with just three other athletes, NBA superstars LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Magic Johnson, all legends in their own right.
