Tiger Woods has been amongst the highest paid athletes in the world for more than a decade now. He was the first sports athlete to win more than a billion dollar in career earnings, including tournament prize money and endorsement earnings. Let us have a look at his career earnings till date.
Net earnings of Tiger Woods till date
As per a report published in the February 2014 issue of Golf Digest, Tiger Woods has pushed past $1.3 billion in career earnings. The report estimates that around 88 percent of the money Woods has earned since turning pro in 1996 ($1.16 billion) has come from various endorsements.
However, this does not include any possible investment income. In today’s world, most successful people, including athletes invest in stocks and various investment vehicles too. If Woods has invested his money in stocks or other investment vehicles, then that $1.3 billion could be even higher.
In 2015, Woods’ total earnings from prize money and endorsements totaled 50.6 million dollars, placed him at ninth position in the list of highest paid athletes in the world.
Earnings from prize money
Tiger Woods has been amongst the most successful professional golf players of all time, with 14 Masters Championships and various other titles won over the years. This has enabled him to earn a handsome amount from his tournament earnings. Also, prize money for most top golf tourneys have been very impressive in the last few decades.
As per Golf Digest records, Woods’ total earning from prize money totals 156 million dollars, which is the highest for any golfer in the history of the sport. His most successful year on the tour earnings wise was 2007, when he won more than 22 million dollars in prize money.
Woods earnings from tournament winnings have declined though in the last two years, with a decline in his form. His total tournament prize money in 2015 was a paltry 0.5 million dollars, the lowest since he turned professional in 1996.
Earnings from endorsements
In his first professional year, at the age of 21, Tiger Woods signed deals with Nike and Titleist, worth $40 and $20 million respectively. Woods' endorsement list has grown at an exponential rate ever since.
His list of sponsors over the years includes the likes of Gatorade, American Express, Asahi, General Mills (Wheaties), Golf Digest, Rolex, Gillette, Accenture, Tag Heuer, AT&T, EA Sports, NetJets, Upper Deck, TLC Laser Eye Centers and Buick.
Woods earns 20 million dollars to endorse Gillette along with fellow super star athletes Roger Federer and Thierry Henry.
His earnings from endorsements were affected after the controversy over his extra marital affairs broke in 2009. However, his earnings from endorsements have still remained pretty healthy, despite few brands opting out of their contract with Woods.
In 2015, his endorsement deals landed him a cool 48 million dollars. Pretty impressive for a player, who has not won a major title now for almost half a decade.
Splurges on luxuries
Like most celebrities, Woods has done some big splurges with his wealth. He owns two luxury yachts, one personal jet and many luxury cars.
One of his yachts, named the Privacy Yacht is one of the biggest celebrity yachts in the wolrd. It has a large bar and an 8 person Jacuzzi.
Tiger Woods also own a Gulfstream G550, one of the highest range business class Jets ever made. It can take 16 people in normal seating configuration and is adorned with all the modern day luxuries.
Woods’ car collection includes the likes of Cadillac Escalade, Porsche Carrera GT, Lexus LS 460 Sedan and Mercedes Benz S65.
