NEW YORK — Sponsors who stuck by Tiger Woods are ramping up to profit from his return to the golf course. Upper Deck will sell memorabilia such as signed red shirts with price tags upward of $1,800. Electronic Arts will release a browser- based version of its Tiger-themed video game next week. And Nike reportedly has a TV commercial featuring Woods in the works, though it won’t confirm that.
The big question is whether his tarnished image can work anything close to its old magic for them and the golf industry, which has been going through tough times of its own because of the weak economy.
It could be that all publicity is good publicity, as time passes since his admissions to extramarital affairs and he returns to golf at the Masters, starting next Thursday, after a four-month hiatus.
Woods’ value as a pitchman who embodied professional perfection might have suffered. He became sports’ first $1 billion earner but lost top endorsements from companies such as Accenture and AT&T as the scandal unfolded. The Associated Press
*8% Increase since October in Tiger Woods-branded products sold by Golfsmith
