Tiger Woods began swinging a club before he could read, and by age two, he was already putting on television, including a well-documented appearance on CBS alongside Bob Hope.

And by the mid-1990s, he had already been named Southern California Amateur of the Year and multiple Player of the Year honors, long before turning professional.

Former PGA Tour professional John Maginnes later addressed that reaction during a January 2022 appearance on GOLF’s Subpar podcast. “We hated him,” Maginnes said. “The money, the rumor was $10 million. That was beyond what a quarterback was making. This was an astronomical sum of money, so we resented him.”

Maginnes was clear that the resentment was not for Woods personally, but because of the unseen financial earnings a rookie was making who had yet to prove himself at the professional level.

That feeling, however, did not last long!

“Then I met him,” Maginnes said. “This is one of the funniest guys on the Tour. This guy is awesome. And so you immediately love him. Tiger is beloved on the Tour.”

Jon Maginnes and Tiger Woods were paired for the first time in 1996 B.C. Open. Maginnes finished in 60th, whereas Woods finished 3rd.

“Once I saw the game,” Maginnes later added, “I knew everything that I’d ever done in my entire life was in vain.”

Woods' performance after his first PGA Tour victory later in 1996, which got him his first deal.

Tiger Woods’ $40 Million Deal With Nike in 1996

Tiger Woods signed his first endorsement deal with Nike in 1996, the year he turned professional. The deal was worth $40 million over five years and was signed before Woods had won on the PGA Tour, which made it unprecedented at the time.

Years later, in 2006, Woods agreed to a new eight-year extension with Nike. The company never disclosed the exact value, but multiple credible reports estimated his annual compensation at between $20 million and $40 million, placing the total value of that deal in the range of $160 million to $320 million.

Combined, Woods’ Nike partnership became one of the most valuable athlete endorsements in sports history.

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu