Tiger Woods and the 15 Biggest Stock Marketing Crashes in Sports
The Stock Market Crash of 1927.
The Wall Street Collapse of 2008-09.
Tiger Woods' Implosion of 2010-11.
How much money was lost all told will never be known...except, perhaps, in the case of Woods.
At one point in his career, the man arguably called the greatest golfer ever was earning in excess of $110 million annually in endorsements.
When it comes to marketing income, Woods has been to golf what the New York Yankees are to baseball.
New York's 27 World Series titles is almost triple that of the St. Louis Cardinals, who come in second with 10 World Series rings.
Woods earned so much from marketing partners that since his one-car accident in November 2009, he has lost more than most other athletes earn earn in a year.
From a high point in 2008 through the end of 2010, Woods was "down" more than $50 million in endorsement deals. Last year, he took in a paltry $60 million in endorsements.
Phil Mickelson at his height earned about $55 million in annual endorsements.
LeBron James currently leads all NBA players with about $30 million in marketing deals.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes the checkered flag in auto racing with about $22 million in marketing alliances.
Peyton Manning tops all NFL players with an estimated marketing payroll of about $15 million.
Having pulled out of The Players, with knee surgery a possibility and with no wins in his rear view mirror, Woods' marketing stock will continue to crash.
At least he can take solace in the fact that he is not alone.
Tiger Woods Is out of the Green
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In 2008, Tiger Woods was earning close to $120 million annually from endorsements, more than twice as much as the next athlete on the list.
At the time, fellow golfer Phil Mickelson was second, earning about $52 million.
General Motors ended its deal with Woods in 2008, a year short of their 10-year pact, due to the automaker's financially troubled situation.
But after Woods' single-car accident during Thanksgiving Day weekend in 2009 opened up his Pandora's box of personal woes, marketing partners began to flee.
Accenture, AT&T, Pepsi, Gatorade and Gillette have all since cut ties.
He currently earns about $60 million from endorsements that include Nike and EA Sports, but that will continue to shrink the longer he stays out of the winner's circle.
Mike Tyson KOs His Image
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Mike Tyson could have been one of the most lucrative athlete endorsers of all time, a title he could have added to his "Baddest Man on the Planet" mantra.
But his bad-ass attitude that won him so many fights in the ring continued out of the ring, which made it hard for marketers to align with him.
Tough guys in boxing can do well, and even losing to Buster Douglas in 1991 could have been non-damaging had he returned to the ring with a vengeance.
However, Tyson continued to follow the wrong path, epitomized by his rape conviction in 1992.
Biting off a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear during their 1997 bout cemented his image.
He has softened, of late, using his mean misdemeanor to advantage in 2009's The Hangover (a role he reprises in the upcoming The Hangover II). He also got an on-screen image makeover by director James Toback in the 2008 documentary, Tyson.
But where Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield, George Foreman and some other boxers have succeeded with sports endorsements, Tyson was a first-round KO.
Kobe Bryant Loses His Hoop Du Jour
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Kobe Bryant had three NBA titles on his resume and about $35 million in marketing endorsements from the likes of Nike, McDonald's, Sprite, Nutella and Nintendo when he was accused of rape in 2003.
The case was eventually settled out of court.
But Bryant's marketing portfolio took a severe hit, dropping below $10 million. McDonald's and Nutella were among the companies that severed their ties with the Los Angeles Lakers' star and never returned.
Bryant has had a comeback in recent years and currently takes in about $12 million-$15 million from endorsements from the likes of Nike and Activision.
But some companies that cater to families and kids have long memories and will never sign an endorsement check with his name on it.
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Barry Bonds Strikes Out
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Barry Bonds never really sought marketing deals during the height of his playing career.
But he was a savvy businessman who knew the value of his name and accomplishments.
After he was sent into retirement from baseball following the 2007 season when no team would sign him as a free agent, endorsements that could have come his way never materialized.
Two major reasons: His alleged connections to BALCO and his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.
His recent guilty verdict on an obstruction charge (currently under appeal) will continue to distance him from marketers.
Although many of his artifacts are there, the man who is the current all-time MLB home run king likely will never be inside the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., unless he buys a ticket.
Pete Rose Craps Out
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Baseball's all-time hit leader was involved with several companies during his playing career and managing tenure.
But his association with gambling and banishment from baseball made it difficult for companies to put him in marketing campaigns and maintain a relationship.
Being banned from the game, he also failed to get the extra bump in income that players see after they are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Rose has had several enterprises, including a restaurant in Boca Raton, Fla., and does draw attention when he appears at autograph sessions.
However, his market value will never reach the level that should have been afforded one of baseball's all-time great hitters.
Especially when headlines would read, "Company X Gambles On Rose."
Ben Roethlisberger Sacks Himself
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The MVP quarterback of a Super Bowl championship team has the potential to earn millions from endorsements.
Just ask Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and even Eli Manning.
But Ben Roethlisberger's two public nasty situations involving women—and rumors of others—have made it impossible for companies to align with him.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback fell so far that he even lost his deal with Big Ben's Beef Jerky and saw the Ben Roethlisberger Burger at a Pittsburgh restaurant taken off the menu.
Michael Phelps Sinks, Then Swims
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Olympic athletes generally are bright lights on the public psyche only once every four years.
Michael Phelps was a major exception to the rule.
Even before he won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Games, he was doing swimmingly well with endorsements from Kellogg's, Subway, Nike, Omega and others.
At one point, his agent even predicted that Phelps could earn $100 million from endorsements.
The photo of him using a bong, which surfaced in November 2008, put a hazy cloud on his commercial appeal.
However, enough time has passed, with Phelps reclaiming his relatively clean all-American image.
As the 2012 Summer Games in London approach, don't be surprised to see Phelps again become a hot property among marketers.
Michael Vick Gets Collared
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In 2007, Michael Vick, then quarterback with the Atlanta Falcons, was earning about $35 million in endorsements from such companies as Nike, Rawlings and Upper Deck.
But his association with a dog-fighting ring and subsequent jail time put an end to his marketability.
His recent exploits on the field with the Philadelphia Eagles and community work off the field have, to a degree, helped Vick to rehabilitate his image.
Still, much to the delight of many observers, Vick will continue to suffer financially for years to come.
He came in a distant second to Peyton Hillis in the recent public voting to select a cover athlete for EA Sports' Madden NFL 12.
And he fell so far that it became national news when he signed a minor endorsement deal in 2011 for a company that makes football shoulder pads and another with a local car dealership.
Marion Jones Finds Fool's Gold
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At the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Marion Jones became the first woman to win five medals in track and field events at one Olympics.
However, her rise to sports and marketing prominence with such companies as Nike, Panasonic, American Express and GNC also came with allegations tying her to performance-enhancing drugs.
In 2007, after years of denial, she admitted to using steroids. She subsequently not only had to renounce her accomplishments but literally return her medals.
She played last season in the WNBA. But her image will always remain foul.
Sammy Sosa Uncorks His Image
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The home run battle between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in 1998 is credited with being a major reason why fans came back to baseball in droves following the MLB strike in 1994.
Sosa got to star in a national Pepsi commercial in 1998 and was looked upon as a popular spokesman for the Hispanic community.
But that all changed with the speed of a 95-mph fastball.
Not only has Sosa been connected to performance enhancing drugs, but there was that incident in 2003 when he came to the plate and broke his bat, revealing a corked interior.
"It's going to be tough. Some fans are probably not too happy about it," Sosa said at the time in a classic under-estimation.
He was ejected and suspended for seven games. And it was his image, not the baseball, that took a significant hit.
The bat itself actually did better than Sosa. The barrel half that did not get tossed away was sold at auction seven years later.
Reebok's Olympic Marketing Misstep
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Dave Johnson and Dan O'Brien starred in a series of commercials for Reebok prior to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
The shoe and apparel company spent what was reported to be $25 million on marketing to "introduce" the friendly rivals, both decathletes, to the public.
The campaign was additionally hyped because it launched during Super Bowl XXVI.
The situation proved to be a classic case of putting the cart before the horse.
O'Brien (pictured) failed to qualify for the Olympics.
Johnson qualified but managed a bronze, far from the hype both promised and promoted in national ads.
O'Brien went on to win a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
But neither man went on to win marketing gold.
XFL Gets Exiled to the Sports Graveyard
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Many critics saw this NFL upstart rival as being a failure far ahead of the first snap.
However, major financial backers included such successful promoters as NBC and what was then the World Wrestling Federation.
And it arrived with upstanding marketing partners such as the U.S. Army and Castrol.
The X-periment started well enough. XFL opened the first week of its only season in 2001 with a game that was watched on NBC by an estimated 14 million viewers.
The fact that it immediately followed NBC's coverage of Super Bowl XXXV accounted for most of the overblown ratings.
As did a bounty of sophomoric rule changes and goodies that promised to connect with fans tired of the the NFL's good-old-boy structure.
The changes proved to be much more of a gimmick than an enhancement.
And the product on the field failed to satisfy even the lowest of pro football standards.
By April, the whole house of cards had collapsed.
Bode Miller Wasted in Snow Business
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Bode Miller was a success not only on the ski slopes but among marketers.
After he won the World Cup in 2005, he gained both domestic and global attention.
At his marketing height, he had more than 10 sponsors, including Nike, Charles Schwab, Visa and Barilla.
But Miller put his ski boot-clad foot in his mouth.
During an interview with 60 Minutes prior to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Miller told a national audience, “Talk about a hard challenge right there...If you ever tried to ski when you’re wasted, it’s not easy.”
His showing at the Winter Games continued to snowball what was then his marketing fall from grace, including a disqualification in the Super-G event and a non-finish in the Giant Slalom.
Miller still remains relevant in the sport, having won a gold medal in Super Combined at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.
Still, his marketing talent, as he himself might say, was wasted.
Greg Oden Comes Up Short
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Greg Oden was the No. 1 overall pick by the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers in 2007.
The seven-footer soon racked up endorsement deals that included Nike, Cricket wireless services, 2K Sports and even a TV spot spoofing his appearance on the cover of ESPN the Magazine.
But Oden has been plagued by a series of bad knees and has never been able to live up to the hype.
He missed his entire first NBA season, 21 games the next year, 61 games in 2009-10 and all of 2010-11.
Still only 23, he appears ready to attempt yet another comeback on the court.
Off the court, marketers will keep their distance before aligning with him again.
Super Bowl XXIV and the Dot.com Bust
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Super Bowl XXIV was played on Jan. 30, 2006.
The St. Louis Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans, 23-16.
It ended with a play that makes every highlight reel in which Rams' LB Mike Jones tackled Titans WR Kevin Dyson one-yard shy of the goal line.
The broadcast of the game on ABC, however, has lived in infamy more for the bloated number of dot.com companies—about 15—that appeared during the broadcast.
They each paid more than $1 million for 30-second commercials.
Among those that were soon to collapse or be sold were Epidemic.com, kforce.com, OnMoney.com, OurBeginning.com, Computer.com, LastMinuteTravel.com and LifeMinders.com.
Pets.com's dog sock puppet spokesperson (pictured) outlived its Web site.
A few companies survived the orgy of spending, including Monster.com, HotJobs.com and Etrade.com.
Although the broadcast of Super Bowl XXIV did not directly cause the ensuing dot.com bust, it did epitomize the bloated amount of money that was spent and lost on these short-lived endeavors.
Barry Janoff is the Executive Editor for NYSportsJournalism.com (which was not one of the dot-com busts).
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