Mac Daddy Santa won’t be happy to know this. Although Tiger Woods, TaylorMade Golf’s Santa for the year, is the master of the roster for his team of elves, one of his subordinates has raked in more in terms of endorsement deals from the megabrand. The Original Equipment Manufacturer’s highest-paid contracts roll out some surprising details like these.
TaylorMade Golf, which KPS Capital purchased for $425 million in 2017, has some of the best golfers from both men’s and women’s circuits in its portfolio. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Nelly Korda, all of whom appeared in the now famous ‘Mac Daddy Santa’ Christmas video, are also the OEM’s biggest draws. But who has the highest TaylorMade contract under their belt?
TaylorMade Golf’s highest-paid golfers
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy signed a contract with TaylorMade in 2017 after Nike pulled the plug on the golf club manufacturing business. Although McIlroy still sports Nike apparel, the Northern Irish golfer has an all-TaylorMade bag. The four-time Major winner’s sponsorship deal is estimated to be worth $100 million, as per Sports Pro Media.
🚨Rory McIlroy has the new TaylorMade driver in the bag after it hit the conforming list this morning. pic.twitter.com/5xw1abg1FI
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) November 13, 2023
Tiger Woods
You are probably surprised to know that Woods is not the highest-paid golfer at TaylorMade. As per Forbes, Woods has a sponsorship deal with OEM for an annual fee of $10 million.However, the duration of the contract is not yet known. Like McIlroy, the 82-time PGA Tour winner was forced to choose TaylorMade after Nike shuttered down its equipment manufacturing business.
Reportedly, Woods’s deal with Nike is coming to an end. Multiple reports suggest that Nike is planning to outsource their golf business through two rival OEMs, and TaylorMade is looking to capitalize on the chance to expand their business. If the 15-time Major Champion goes full TaylorMade from clubs to apparel, his valuation is likely to top that of McIlroy.
🚨🎅🏽⛳️ #WATCH: Tiger Woods is back as Mac Daddy Santa in TaylorMade’s Christmas video.
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) December 19, 2023
Scottie Scheffler
The current World No. 1 earned $6 million from endorsements, as per Forbes. Scheffler has sponsorship ties with Nike, TaylorMade, and Titleist. So, the earnings from TaylorMade are presumably lower than those from Woods and McIlroy. Notably, Scheffler uses Titleist Pro V1 golf balls, a deviation from his TaylorMade clubs.
Nelly Korda
The former World No. 1 also has multi-year agreements with Nike and TaylorMade. Earlier, Korda had a sponsorship agreement with Titleist. However, after the contract ran its course, Korda became a free agent before eventually partnering with TaylorMade. Although the exact amount of the contract is not known, signing the biggest draw on the LPGA Tour definitely didn’t come cheap.
Job postings on TaylorMade’s website indicate that they are trying to foray into the apparel segment. Apparently, golfers across the LIV Golf and PGA Tour spectrum are waiting for the opportunity to join the brand in the near future. In all likelihood, the list of highest contracts might see some shake-up next year.
