After collaborating for 27 years with a brand like Nike, golf legend Tiger Woods has announced that he will be parting ways with them. He is now going to be seeking a new sponsor for himself. This has not only raised questions on the relationship they shared but also the ties that Nike shares with the sport of golf. Additionally, it has stirred up memories of 2018 for tennis fans.

A similar incident of this scale happened in the tennis world six years ago when Roger Federer announced that he was splitting from Nike. At the time the ex-director of the brand had shared how disheartening the news was for him back in 2018.

Tiger Woods’ Nike split reminiscent of Roger Federer and decades-long relationship

In the year 2018, Roger Federer announced that he would not be working with Nike anymore after working with them for 24 years. He had then joined hands with a Japanese clothing retail chain Uniqlo. They were offering him a 10-year contract with $30 million as the value. After that went down, the ex-director of Nike, Mike Nakajima shared how disappointed he was with this incident.

Per The Roger Federer Effect, Nakajima said, “That should never have happened. For us to let somebody like that go, it’s an atrocity. Roger Federer belonged with Nike for the rest of his career. Just like Michael Jordan. Like LeBron James, like Tiger Woods. He’s right up there with the all-time greatest Nike athletes ever. It wasn’t my decision and I wasn’t there for it. Roger is going to be fine.”

“I probably would have done the same thing if I were in the same boat. Nike is still selling millions and millions of pairs of Jordans. When was the last time Michael played? It’s been many, many years. They could have done the same thing for Roger. For years to come, they could have created shoes with an RF logo.”

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At the time Mike Nakajima had already left the brand but he was still very disappointed as his wife and sons still worked for Nike. So, this loss felt personal to him. The split was also tragic for Federer but he later shared the reason why that happened with his fans in an interview as well.

The reason behind the Federer-Nike split

In an interview with the Express, Roger Federer shared that he and the brand were under some negotiations for a year or so but they were not able to come to an agreement. He also added that he knows what his value is but the brand did not see it and tried to negotiate with him upon it.

He also added that he did not want someone else to tell him about his value and felt that whatever he was asking for was reasonable. On the other hand, Federer also added that Uniqlo did not make him feel like a falling star but a star that is always going to be there shining brightly which is why he considered partnering with them instead of Nike.

No reasons for the Woods/Nike split have been revealed yet, but what do you think?

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