Nike reportedly slashed their contract with Tiger Woods by 50% last year, cutting his endorsement earnings to less than one-third of what had been previously reported.
Last month, Forbes estimated that Woods' endorsement deals brought in about $75 million in 2010, but now a report by Fortune says that his actual earnings may be less than $20 million.
Many of his major sponsorship deals were canceled in the wake of sexual scandals in late 2009, but the quiet renegotiation with Nike – by far his biggest benefactor – has delivered this biggest hit.
Given his recent (very expensive) divorce and a series of huge real estate deals, his debt may soon become overwhelming. He's paying more than $10 million a year in mortgage payments and property taxes just on his main Florida home.
The declining revenues may also explain why IMG did not put up a fight when Tiger's agent, Mark Steinberg, decided to leave for another agency. An IMG sources tells Fortune their income off his deal had dropped to about $1.5 million a year.
In January, a Dubai investment group pulled the plug on his luxury golf resort project. And yacht prices aren't what they used to be.
Compounding Woods' troubles even more is the fact that he hasn't won a tournament in almost two full years. He's won about $1.8 million the last two years. In 2009 alone, he won $10.5 million in a single campaign.
No one is going to feel sorry for a pro golfer making "only" $20 million a year, but for a guy used to living on top of the world, it's not just his knee and ankle that are hurting right now.
His agent denies that he's facing any financial strain.
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