Years of togetherness and then a sudden estrangement. Does it ring a bell? Well, that’s what happened as one of the longest-running and most profitable brand/athlete deals between Tiger Woods and Nike came to an eventual end. Even after weeks of Nike and the 48-year-old ending their once-believed forever-together story, the golf world is unable to put its finger on what went wrong. But now it seems we might just find out!

In our attempt to revisit the pages of history, we discovered a shocking truth. Years ago, the 15-time Major champion disclosed a few concerns and indirect suggestions that he had in his mind regarding Nike. And by the looks of it, it seems Woods’ plea for ‘comfort’ went unnoticed. 

How did Tiger Woods signal Nike in 2021?

For the longest time, everyone believed the birth of a changed narrative between Tiger Woods and the multi-billion dollar conglomerate came in 2022. Ahead of the Masters, following his car crash, he opened up about wearing FootJoy shoes. “I have very limited mobility now with the rods and plates and screws that are in my leg,” he said. “I needed something different, something that allowed me to be more stable. That’s what I’ve gone to.” However, history stands opposed to these previous suspicions. A clip from 2021 suggests that Woods had given signals about his expectations to Nike in 2021 itself.

His focus on comfort had been a pre-requisite for some time. He had conveyed to the brand, directly or indirectly, that he wanted apparel that “works in unison” with his game and acts as an extension of himself. In an interview from a couple of years ago, he said, “Well, my apparel is an extension of me. I want everything to work in unison, whether it’s from my clubs all the way to my apparel, including footwear, my gloves, everything. I don’t want to feel uncomfortable because when we’re out there competing, we’re in a very uncomfortable environment. The last thing you need to do is have something that’s nagging at you.”

After switching to FootJoy to find this very comfort, Woods revealed he was working with Nike on a new design. But it seems as though that never came to fruition. At that time, as per Nike’s former brand marketing director Jordan Rogers, “Something got in [Woods’] brain that a Nike shoe was no longer the thing that made his foot feel right.” The way shoes are designed can have a massive impact on golfers’ body movements. And for Woods, Nike’s product just wasn’t working anymore.