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Tiger Woods – The Highest Paid Sports Star of 2009

The 13 year professional career of Tiger Woods has certainly been highly lucrative and Woods has been the highest paid sports star in the world since overtaking Michael Schumacher in 2002. His relationship with sports brand Nike has undoubtedly contributed massively to his lifetime earnings, in addition to his legendary prowess on the golf course. Over the last 12 months, Woods has earned an astonishing £55 million and over his pro career he has won 14 golf majors and his earnings have topped an unprecedented £620 million!

His prize money is dwarfed by his earnings from sponsorship, advertising and endorsements and in particular the £20 million he receives each year from Nike.

So what makes him stand head and shoulders above his peers as the worlds highest earning sports star? An easy answer is his golfing ability but there is more to it than that. His personal style and character add significantly to the package and he is also an excellent communicator with charisma thrown in for good measure. Add in a clean-cut image with no obvious skeletons in the closet and you have the complete earning machine.

Woods believes that he can continue to play and earn at the top level for at least the next ten years and given his God given abilities, who could argue?

The question is – is the 32 year old worth it?

Well, if Woods is involved in a tournament then the television ratings increase by over one third. Sponsors are notorious for ensuring they get value for money and Nike, Buick and Gillette clearly think that Woods is bringing in the cash. Whilst this puts great demands on Woods spare time outside the golf course, he does not seem to mind the rigorous schedule and indeed some have said that he even seems to relish it and it is a fact that nine tenths of his earnings come from outside his golf course prize money. Nike, in particular have seen the Woods magic take them from having no line of golf clothing in 1996, to over £375 million in sales in 2007.

Currently there is no real competitor to Woods position at the top of the earnings league. The only person that might be able to mount a challenge in the next few years is Lewis Hamilton but this will depend on his continued success on the Grand Prix circuit and another world title to add to the one he won in 2008.