After Tiger Woods, Financial Crisis Hits Fred Couples

Just two days after GM announced that will be discontinuing their sponsorship deal with Tiger Woods, Fred Couple appears to be the next big-name golfer to be hit by the financial crisis.

After 16 years, Cadillac, a division of GM, is re-evaluating their 16-year sponsorship deal with Couples.

Cadillac signed Couples to a massive sponsorship deal after his win at the 1992 Masters.

The details of Couples deal with Cadillac have never been made public but it is thought to have paid him several million dollars per year. 

At 49, Couples’ best playing days have passed him by.  However, his silky smooth swing continues to attract some of the largest galleries making him still one of the most popular players on Tour.

It should be no surprise that a company such as GM, who is facing bankruptcy and lobbying the government for a $25 billion handout to save the company, is re-evaluating their expensive sponsorship contracts.

The American taxpayers, who could very well be handing GM $25 billion, would certainly support any decision against spending their money to pay Tiger Woods and Fed Couples a combined $10-$15 million.

Using taxpayer money to pay the likes of Tiger Woods and Fed Couples would likely force GM CEO Rick Wagoner to get back on his private jet and fly down to Washington D.C.for another congressional hearing on the misallocation of taxpayer funds.

The PGA Tour and its members would be naive to think that the financial crises would not in some way or another dig into their pockets.

However, I don’t think anyone was quite prepared for the crises to hit the pockets of two of the games most popular players so soon.

The demise of Lehman Brothers back in September was the single largest event that has led to the US financial system collapsing like a house of cards over the past couple of months.

Hopefully, for the sake of the PGA Tour, Woods’ loss of his massive GM sponsorship deal has not started a domino affect that will spread rapidly throughout the entire tour.

Times are tough for everyone and not even the PGA Tour or it's biggest stars are immune.