Tiger Woods' DUI arrest early Monday morning will "surely raise questions" regarding the status of his current and future endorsement deals, according to CNBC's Landon Dowdy. Woods has played "sparingly this season" and on April 19 had a fourth surgery on his back, but he still was the "fourth-highest paid golfer" this year, earning more than $34M off the course ("Worldwide Exchange," CNBC, 5/30). FORBES.com's Patrick Rishe noted many companies "felt 'burned'" by Woods back in '09 after his sex scandal became public, and they "showed their emotions by dumping Woods as a brand representative." The same could happen "within days" of Woods' recent incident. Woods is "more 'expendable' these days as a brand ambassador because his playing career is in serious jeopardy of ever again coming remotely close to the greatness we all witnessed for the better part of two decades." Rishe: "Part of this is because he is now, with this arrest, going to be perceived by corporate America as a two-time offender of the public's trust" (FORBES.com, 5/29). The AAP notes Woods' position as a "vehicle to promote his sponsors has never been more diminished since his series of alleged extramarital affairs were first reported" in '09. Woods "looms as a potential burden on his fleet of sponsorship deals." Woods now "may not look so great in the eyes of the sponsors paying him extremely well to promote them." They are the same sponsors who now "have a tool to potentially break their contracts with the champion golfer" (NEWS.com.au, 5/30). THE STREET's Brian Sozzi wrote it "may finally be time" for Nike to "cut bait at any cost in order to save itself from continuing to be associated with a troubled, low return on investment athlete." Woods' ROI "continues to shrink by the day" (THESTREET.com, 5/29).
