-
Tiger Woods takes a break - Source: Reuters -
Related
Companies like Nike Inc are not expected to sever their ties with golfer Tiger Woods, who has sponsorship deals worth an estimated $100 million a year, after his weekend car accident, analysts and consultants say.
Woods hit a fire hydrant and tree with his Cadillac as he was pulling out of the driveway of his house in Florida at around 2:25am on Saturday morning.
He sustained minor injuries.
Police in the US are looking at obtaining a search warrant that would allow them to seize medical records from the hospital that treated the golfer.
They want to find out if his wounds are consistent with a car accident or domestic violence.
Woods has said the only one responsible for the accident is him. However, there are rumours that the accident followed a fight between Woods and his wife, Elin Nordegren.
Woods says his wife had nothing to do with the crash and she was the first on the scene to help him, reportedly using a golf club to smash her way into the locked car.
Despite the rumours, early returns show companies are standing by the popular golfer.
"Tiger Woods is one of the premier athletes in the world and we are proud to have him involved with NetJets," David Sokol, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc's NetJets private jet unit, said in an email statement.
Thirty-three-year-old Woods, considered the best golfer of his generation, has had numerous sponsorship deals through the years for everything from Nike to automobiles to shave creams to sports drinks.
Woods' biggest sponsor, Nike, issued a statement to CNBC which said:
"Tiger and his family have Nike's full support...We respect Tiger's request for privacy and our thoughts are with Tiger and his family at this time."
Officials with PepsiCo Inc brand Gatorade also wished Woods well and said the company's partnership with Woods continues.
Two of Woods' sponsors also ran their adverts in US papers on Monday.
According to CNBC, Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer ran with its ad in USA Today, and consulting firm Accenture kept its ad in the Wall St Journal.
Meanwhile, Woods has pulled out of his own golf tournament, the Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, California.
In a statement on his official website , he says injuries from the accident would prevent him from making an appearance.
Major player on and off the green
Consultants say Woods' popularity and long record of dominance on the professional golf tour, as well as his charitable activities, make any sponsor defections unlikely.
"It doesn't matter as things stand today," says Marc Ganis, president of consulting firm Sportscorp Ltd.
"We'll see what the future brings, (but) he is the reason golf is still on the map. He's got a heck of a lot of chits in his ledger."
While it is not clear what led up to Woods' early morning accident, any new reports are not likely to shake sponsors' faith in Woods.
"Unless something comes up that would be completely out of left field, I don't see any sponsor getting out of a current deal with Tiger because of this situation," says Robert Boland, professor of sports management at New York University.
Doug Shabelman, president of Burns Entertainment, which matches celebrities with corporate sponsors, agrees.
"It's going to have very little impact on Tiger's current and future earnings potential unless something extraordinary is uncovered," he says.
"He's built up enough goodwill that people will give him the benefit of the doubt."
Procter & Gamble Co's Gillette declined to comment on its deal with Woods. Other sponsors, including AT&T Inc, Electronic Arts Inc, TLC Vision Corp, Upper Deck, Tag Heuer and Accenture could not be reached.
One area where analysts said Woods' usually well-honed public relations skills slipped was his delayed and limited response to the accident.
More of the same could still be damaging to him, they say.
"He missed an opportunity right away to take control of the story," says Paul Argenti, professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
"The longer he lets this go, the lower the reservoir (of goodwill) is getting."
