While Tiger Woods' IMG agent Mark Steinberg "finally"
has Woods' five-year renewal with Nike worth $85-100M "out
of the way," he said that he is "working on contract
extensions with other companies Woods endorses," including
AmEx and EA Sports, according to Doug Ferguson of the AP.
Burns Sports President Bob Williams said the Nike deal
"raises the ante for everyone else who wants Tiger" (AP,
9/16). The N.Y. TIMES' Dave Anderson wrote that the more
than $50M Woods will earn from endorsements this year will
be "significantly more" than the $35M Michael Jordan earned
while playing in the NBA. But for the "millions" Woods' 11
sponsors are paying, Woods is a "bargain" (N.Y. TIMES,
9/17). In Palm Beach, Craig Dolch: "I'm sure you had the
same thought when considering the richest endorsement deal
in history. They're paying him this little?" (PALM BEACH
POST, 9/17). ESPN's John Feinstein: "Tiger will be worth
every penny and more. Right now, like it or not, he is golf
and he's not that far away from being sports, period" ("The
Sports Reporters," 9/17). In Orlando, Brian Schmitz wrote
the "most amazing things" about Woods' lucrative Nike deal
are that it's "going to a golfer," and "no one who truly
appreciates Tiger will begrudge him one cent" (ORLANDO
SENTINEL, 9/16). SFX Sports' John Mascatello was asked by
CNN's Lou Waters whether Woods' Nike deal "mean[s] a bright
future for many athletes in the endorsement world?"
Mascatello: "I would suspect, yes. That with Woods' new
contract obviously the bar is being raised" (CNN, 9/15).
