When Tiger Woods’ break from golf ends, he’s unlikely to regain his crown as one of the world’s most valuable pitchmen, even if he gets back to winning tournaments and convinces people he has changed.
America loves comeback stories, but his future ad opportunities are likely to be limited to sports product endorsements, significantly reducing his earnings power.
That was the takeaway from Gillette’s announcement Saturday that it won’t feature Woods in its ads for an unspecified period of time. It was the first major sponsor to distance itself from Woods since he announced late Friday he is taking an indefinite leave from golf to work on his marriage after allegations of infidelity surfaced in recent weeks.
Woods’ leave and request for privacy may give sponsors the cover they need to pull their ads indefinitely and distance themselves from allegations that Woods had trysts with multiple women.
AT&T said it is evaluating its relationship with the golfer. Representatives from Accenture won’t say what its plans are regarding Woods.
In other developments, Woods’ wife bought a six-bedroom house on a small island near Stockholm that is reachable only by boat.
Also, Woods’ caddie, Steve Williams, said he was angry with a story that he must have known about Woods’ alleged affairs, and that he may even have helped arranged liaisons.
“I am an honest person. I had no knowledge of what was going on,” Williams said. “If I did, I would say I did.”
