Rishe on fate of Tiger Woods’ brand after DUI arrest

At the top of his game in 2009, golf star Tiger Woods was earning an estimated $92 million from product endorsements. Plagued by problems on and off the course from marital issues, knee and back surgeries to failure to win a major since 2008, or a tournament since 2013, the Tiger Woods brand has suffered. With the DUI arrest of Woods on Memorial Day in Florida, Olin’s Director of the Business of Sports Program, Patrick Rishe, is not optimistic about Woods’ power to attract or keep endorsements going forward:

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.

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.

—Patrick Rishe

That’s what Rishe said in his column for Forbes.

In an interview May 30 on CNBC, Riche predicts that Woods will lose more endorsement contracts (although, he admits, Nike is hard to gauge), as a result of his latest transgression.

According to CNN:

On Monday, Woods said in a statement that alcohol was not involved and that he had “an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications.”

In a statement to CNN and other media outlets, Woods, currently rehabbing from back surgery, said he did not realize the mix of medications “had affected me so strongly.”

“I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Woods said.