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Years ago it was the Big Three in Golf, as Nicklaus, Palmer and Player threw the game on their backs and carried it when there was little else for the golf world to really talk about. “It wasn’t about the money” as they say, at least not incredible life-changing gobs of it anyway. But of course – that was back when any of the aforementioned three had to drive from venue to venue in a beater with 200,000 miles on a gas-guzzling 8 cylinder engine, and they didn’t walk the fairways looking like walking billboards, unlike the players who came after them a half century later. Sure, endorsement contracts existed back then. Companies like Lucky Strike and Pennzoil knew a good opportunity when they saw it, but they weren’t doling out endorsement checks greater than the GDP’s of many third-world nations.
Alas… that was back when the Big Three in Golf were players and not golf equipment manufacturers.
Things being what they are, Nike’s decision to woo Rory McIlroy into a long-term contract deal, which was made official just a few days ago, appears to be a mutual gold mine for both parties, as Phil Knight’s second biggest thoroughbred to enter the Nike stable now has more oats than Quakers have money. The Guardian news agency here in the UK is reporting that McIlroy’s 10-year, mega-millions arrangement with Nike is worth $250 million, and when he tees it up in his first event of the season later today in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship – he’ll have an entirely different bag of new Nike toys to play with. Golf magazine online quickly points out that McIlroy’s power induces a lot of spin on the golf ball, which might make the changeover to the new Nike 20XI-X ball a bit more difficult. But Rory attempted to shrug off any immediate concerns. “You know me, I don’t overthink things,” he said. “I’m not going to get overwhelmed by changing my equipment. In all honesty, it’s been a pretty seamless transition.”
One thing is apparent in all of this: despite the current economic climate that is still reeling from the 5-year tailspin that the entire world has had to endure, big corporations are still eager to hitch their wagons to winners, especially the young, unassuming and likable types. McIlroy’s presence indeed offers Nike both the talent and the image they desire, and neither party seemed to have any qualms joining forces to capitalize on the current “heir apparent to Tiger” storyline that has been in the works since the 23-year-old won his first major and ascended to the top of the World Golf Rankings. In fact, Nike wasted little time presenting their new partnership with McIlroy this season with a new commercial that was released just yesterday (video below).
“I chose Nike for a number of reasons,” McIlroy said. “It’s a company and a brand that really resonates with me. It’s young. It’s athletic. It’s innovative. They are committed to being the best, as am I. Signing with Nike is another step towards living out my dream.”
A dream that continues to get bigger and better with each passing year, one that at some point truly “isn’t about the money” any longer.
But then again – we already knew that.
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