Tiger Woods and TaylorMade have made it official. The golf great has agreed to create a new performance and lifestyle apparel and footwear brand with the Carlsbad, California-based company following his recent split with Nike.
The Sun Day Red brand will only be available online from May for the first time. “Life changes and this is an important transition and I wanted to have a brand that I was proud of going forward,” Tiger said.
Woods says the brand's name “Sun Day Red” is a tribute to the fact that he always wore red on Sundays. The tiger logo is a tribute to the fifteen majors he has worn over the course of his career.
TaylorMade and Woods announced the news Monday evening at a press event in Pacific Palisades, California, ahead of the PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational, an event he hosts.
“It's the right time,” said Woods, appearing in a cashmere sweater from the new brand.
Woods' relationship with TaylorMade dates back to 2017, when the two signed an equipment deal that saw him play with the brand's driver, fairway wood, irons and wedges.
Woods said he was courted by other companies, but he trusted TaylorMade for their ability to “get it right.”
TaylorMade CEO David Abeles said Woods was an inspiration to his team, including his discipline and meticulous approach to product design.
The new brand includes an entirely new company with a separate headquarters and employees solely focused on its development, Abeles said.
“There is no influence from TaylorMade on this brand. His brand is standalone and independent of TaylorMade,” Abeles said.
Last month, Woods announced his split from longtime apparel partner Nike after 27 years. Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, told CNBC at the time that the golfer had made the business decision not to renew with Nike.
The fifteen-time Majors winner's brand awareness is less today than it ever was at the peak of his career. Woods has been plagued by a series of injuries following his 2021 car crash near Los Angeles, which left him with multiple leg injuries. Since then, the 48-year-old has rarely played in major golf tournaments and his play has been inconsistent.
Still, the deal is still a big win for TaylorMade. Woods still has a lasting legacy, experts say, and continues to draw huge crowds as fans hope to catch a glimpse of one of the greatest golfers of all time.
“Michael Jordan is still Michael Jordan, and Air Jordans are still going strong,” says Eric Smallwood, president of Apex Marketing Group, invoking the Basketball Hall of Famer for comparison.
Apex has tracked Woods' brand awareness over the course of his career. Smallwood said the golfer's TaylorMade deal will be a “huge lift” for his brand.
Although seen less often on the golf course, Woods has become co-owners of a new indoor, technology-focused golf league called TGL with Rory McIlroy. That's expected to launch next year and has a broadcast deal on ESPN, which could be a big boost for TaylorMade.
There has been speculation about a Woods-TaylorMade partnership for months. TaylorMade formed a new LLC last March called TaylorMade Lifestyle Ventures, according to Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney at Gerben Law. Then, in June, the company began filing trademarks, including SUNDAY RED, a logo for SUN DAY RED, a tiger logo, and a tiger logo with the letters S, D, R.
Gerben told CNBC that it is likely that TaylorMade filed the LLC as a way to provide Woods with shares in the new company.
“I thought it was an incredibly unique structure,” he said. “In a sponsorship deal with an athlete, you rarely see a new entity created just to own that.”
Representatives for both Nike and Woods were not immediately available to comment on that agreement.
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