Tiger Woods long ago lost the so-called aura of invincibility that seemed to cloak him each time he teed it up against an opponent, and now, it appears, he can no longer demand outrageous fees just to show up and bat a ball around -- at least in the Middle East.
Tiger Woods’ huge appearance fees are drying up
When Tiger Woods loses his spot as the top sport brand, as well as his ability to demand lucrative appearance fees, the end of an era is at hand.
Warren Little
Barely a week after Woods lost his frontrunner status to LeBron James as the world’s most valuable athlete “brand,” the Telegraph’s James Corrigan reported that organizers of events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai will no longer ante up the reported $3 million or so each in appearance fees that Woods has banked in years past.
Much has been made of the passing of the baton from an injury-plagued and beatable Woods to the next generation of superstars, led by current world No. 1 Rory McIlroy. But since it’s all about the money for professional athletes from all playing fields, the news from Forbes and the Middle East would seem to seal the deal.
“It can surely be seen as the end of an era,” Corrigan wrote on Tuesday, noting that Woods has missed the European Tour’s “Gulf Swing” only twice in the past 10 seasons: 2009, post knee-surgery, and 2010, when he was mired in his sex scandal.
In an eerie echo of the Forbes report, a Euro Tour official told Corrigan that, while Woods remained “a huge name,” the winner of multiple major championships who has been stalled at 14 going on six years “does not represent the value he once did.”
Corrigan conceded that before Woods took another injury-related hiatus, he was set to pull in $4 million to play in this month’s America’s Golf Cup in Buenos Aires and a matching pay check for a pair of corporate events in China. His back surgery earlier this year scotched such appearances, and his shaky health and iffy game, Corrigan opined, may well jeopardize his wallet-stuffing abilities moving forward.
Of course, should the 38-year-old father of two who lately spends his time goofing around on late-night TV, watching football and sitting on committees, recover the game-winning form that made Tiger Woods the most bankable athlete in the world and worth every penny (see: Turkey, 2013), all bets are off.
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