Rory McIlroy signs with Nike.. Rory and Tiger Film Commercial Together (Updates)

[Monte the Bear]

Originally Posted by colin007

nah, they play pretty much the same clubs that are available to us in the stores.

I like your line of humour. Or humor, if you are in the USA.

With reference to McIlroy and Chandler, there was definitely something wrong with the dynamic between Chandler and his players. Westwood and McIlroy enjoy an (at best) cordial relationship, especially after Westwood's comments after the 2011 Masters about McIlroy having a snap-hook in his bag when under pressure. Given McIlroy's record compared to Wstewood's since then, probably best to let the clubs do the talking, Mr. Westwood.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by boogielicious

I don't want him to switch because there is usually a drop off in performance when they switch. GMAC switched and struggled for a while.  Rory is playing lights out now and is great fun to watch.

Did GMAC struggle or did the inevitable winding down of his lightning in a bottle 2010 season coincide with a club change?

[colin007]

Originally Posted by Monte the Bear

I like your line of humour. Or humor, if you are in the USA.

believe what you want, bro.

[boogielicious]

It could have been coincidence, but GMAC's struggles and new clubs seem to happen at the same time.  some commentators mentioned that.

[Henny Bogan]

My thoughts are that while Titleist has had a reputation for not wanting to pay high dollar endorsement contracts to its players, that in this economy, they would be hard-pressed to find a more visible, and better person to endorse their products than Rory.  So while the rumor sounds good, I think he stays with Titleist for the time being.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Henny Bogan

My thoughts are that while Titleist has had a reputation for not wanting to pay high dollar endorsement contracts to its players, that in this economy, they would be hard-pressed to find a more visible, and better person to endorse their products than Rory.  So while the rumor sounds good, I think he stays with Titleist for the time being.

That's a safe bet since it includes everything from "at least 20 minutes" to "10 years from now".

[stogiesnbogies]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I don't doubt their forged blades are comparable to the MB's that Rory is using now.  I was thinking more about the woods.  Titleist was just recently able to get Rory to switch from his six year old 906 fairway woods to the new 913's which would seem to indicate he's pretty particular about his woods.

That may well be but most equipment deals do not require that all clubs in the bag are made by the sponsor....in other words he could use Nike irons and Titleist woods ...I know a mini-tour pro with a sponsorship and they require he carry 10 clubs from their shop...

[newtogolf]

Each deal is different.  Some golfers are fully sponsored (woods, irons, wedges, balls) and others have just parts of their bag sponsored.  Most are sponsored by Titleist for Pro V's but guys like Phil are 100% Callaway, and pretty sure Rory is 100% Titleist.

Originally Posted by stogiesnbogies

That may well be but most equipment deals do not require that all clubs in the bag are made by the sponsor....in other words he could use Nike irons and Titleist woods ...I know a mini-tour pro with a sponsorship and they require he carry 10 clubs from their shop...

[stogiesnbogies]

Yes I too believe Rory is now 100% Titleist but that could indeed change with Nike's cash ...and they could offer him a limited club kind of deal so he could take the dough AND play some Titleist clubs he prefers...

[crayputter]

I really think all of us are reading too mucn into this 'bromance'....

Geez, those 2 could have been talking about all sorts of things, Rory's gf, his newfound fame, papparazzi, etc etc....anything really.

Why does it have to be TW trying to 'influence' RM into Nike Golf ?

For all you know, maybe Rory wants to buy a pad in the Jupiter area and who better than getting info from other than Tiger ? Maybe Rory even might be asking more info about Medalist GC....

Its been a while since Titleist had a hot  superstar in their stable, so I doubt they would just let Rory go easily...pretty sure a contract renegotiation is coming up, if not already.

Cheers

Ray

[joekelly]

From the Irishtimes. online.

GOLF SPONSORSHIP: SPECULATION HAS grown in recent days that Rory McIlroy could be in line to sign a massive deal with Nike when his current contract with Titleist/Footjoy expires at the end of the year. Such a deal could be worth up to $250 million (€192m) over 10 years, which is similar to Tiger Woods’ current deal with Nike.

When McIlroy (below) won the US Open by an astonishing eight strokes last year there was speculation from sports marketing experts that he could rival Woods as a money-making machine on and off the course and earn $1 billion from the sport.

Those predictions haven’t gone away in the light of his stellar 2012 season and last August’s eight-stroke victory in the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island consolidated his position as the game’s undisputed number one.

The 23-year-old from Co Down has long been considered a sponsor’s dream – clean cut, articulate and immensely popular worldwide – and according to London-based publication SportPro Media, he is the second most marketable athlete in the world behind Brazilian soccer star Neymar.

But while there has been industry chatter for the best part of the last three years that he is set to join sports equipment giants Nike, the noise has reached deafening levels over the past few months.

Sources consulted by The Irish Times insist that the move to Nike will become a reality when the Titleist/Footjoy deal expires.

Given that Woods is the undisputed face of Nike, it remains to be seen what will happen next and whether or not McIlroy is being groomed to take over from Woods as the face of what the prestigious business magazine Forbes named recently as “the most valuable sports brand in the world, worth $15.9 billion”. They are certainly not short of cash with Forbes reporting that sales of Nike-branded merchandise in 2012 amounted to $21.8 billion (€16.7bn).

Money is one thing but image is paramount to a sports giant that hit the headlines this week when it terminated its endorsement contract with seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, citing “the seemingly insurmountable evidence” that the Texan “participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade”.

With McIlroy becoming the first multiple Major winner in the game since Pádraig Harrington in 2008 and with Woods winless in the Majors since the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, an agreement with the Ulsterman could only be good for the Nike brand. Even 14-time Major winner Woods has conceded that the Holywood star is the future of the game.

When asked for comment earlier this week, McIlroy’s agent, Conor Ridge of Horizon Sports Management, did not immediately move to quench speculation that his top client was about to leave Titleist for Nike.

Contacted again yesterday, Ridge said in statement: “As you are aware, Rory is under contract with Titleist. It is our policy not to pass comment regarding any industry speculation related to any of our players.”

McIlroy is not averse to taking bold decisions, as he showed when he left Andrew Chubby Chandler’s International Sports Management stable for Horizon last year. The Dublin-based agency inherited almost all of McIlroy’s current contracts which include the Dubai-based Jumeirah Group, Oakley, luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet and banking behemoth Santander.

[tristanhilton85]

Hmmm... I kind of like Rory being the face of Titleist... for whatever reason I don't see him as a Nike guy, but maybe that's just me.

[newtogolf]

I'm guessing he's trying out Nike clubs to make sure he's comfortable playing them as well as some other manufacturers.  He's a young guy, considered good looking by some, very likeable, humble and has the potential to dominate the PGA Tour for many years so it's no shock that Nike and probably others are trying to get him to sign a long term deal.

While Nike might be in the forefront of the news, I wouldn't be shocked if TM was also trying to get him to sign with them.  TM has been very aggressive in going after other manufacturers top players and right now he's #1 on everyones list.

[Paradox]

I see Nike going after Rory just like they did with Tiger when he was a young one.  They are needing a new face to reach the new generation of golfers.  Tiger is still very popular but the ones who grew up on Tiger are now reaching their mid 20's to 30.  Rory will connect better with the young juniors(who wouldn't see him as "an old man") and have Nike dominating as a brand for many more years.

[GaijinGolfer]

Who cares?  Are the Titleist fans really so arrogant that they cant imagine Rory would want to play anything else?

[newtogolf]

Im not sure who you're referring to, we're just having a discussion about what gear the #1 pro in the world might play after his contract is over.  I see nothing close to arrogance in the discussion.

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

Who cares?  Are the Titleist fans really so arrogant that they cant imagine Rory would want to play anything else?

[Beachcomber]

Perhaps with Nike saving $100M+ in cutting ties with Lance Armstrong... They can have the Brinks truck make regular drops @ RORS?

[Beachcomber]

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