Home >> News >> Bodog Floats $100m Sponsorship Offer to ...

Bodog Floats $100m Sponsorship Offer to Tiger Woods

UPDATE: Bodog honcho Calvin Ayre announced that Woods has officially rejected Bodog’s offer. Wood’s agent reportedly told Bodog that Bodog “does not represent what Tiger Woods wants to stand for.”

Publicity stunt? Probably, but it’s a large enough name and a large enough number to get us wondering if Woods might be driven to consider signing on to the Bodog brand.

Most athletes – we’d guess well over 90% – would jump at the offer made by Bodog to Tiger Woods this week. $100 million over 5 years. No morals clause.

In fact, the offer suggests that Bodog would prefer Tiger continue to act exactly as he had been acting prior to his recent public fiasco. From a release announcing the offer: “BodogBrand feel they are the only ones who can extend a deal that will be totally unaffected by any non-golf related activity but in fact actively encourages endorses, employees and customers alike to ‘Play Hard’.”

Bodog isn’t the first to approach Woods. In March, online gambling property Paddy Power offered up a deal worth a reported $75 million, also over 5 years, to Woods, which was declined.

Will Woods even give the offer a second glance? On the surface, you could make the argument that the loss of several key sponsors following the last few months of scandals (including Gatorade, Accenture and AT&T) along with the looming financial threat of what will no doubt be an insanely expensive divorce may have put Tiger in a financial spot where the deal might actually be tempting.

The number that Bodog is floating isn’t small stakes stuff for Tiger, either. Yes, he’s sick rich, but his total endorsement deals pre-scandal totaled about $100 million a year, so $20 million per year is certainly an amount that’s well in his wheelhouse.

While the above is all reasonable conjecture, however, it’s extremely difficult to believe that Woods would seriously consider the offer – despite the fact that some sources are reporting that Wood’s agent actually solicited additional details from Bodog via fax. Woods has done a lot of work to rehab his image, and association with an online gambling property would essentially undo that work.

Bodog being the online gambling property in question further complicates the matter form Wood’s perspective. Signing with PokerStars would be one thing – the company only offers poker and already has several major athletes on their roster. Signing with Bodog, which has purposefully developed a brand image with a far stronger renegade flavor, would certainly make it more difficult for Woods to convince his fans and the PGA that he’s turned over a new leaf.

Additionally, the publicity from the signing would no doubt open the door to a complete re-hashing of all of the nasty particulars of Wood’s infidelities, a subject he’s taken great pains to move out of the media spotlight.

At the end of the day, it’s probably nothing more than another smart PR move by Bodog. The chances of Tiger accepting are slim, but the company will grab a few headlines from the offer and if that slim chance comes through, could nab a once-in-a-lifetime sponsorship opportunity.

Get details on our Private VIP Offer at Bodog here.

Do You Want Free CardRunners? Choose: Yes | No

Get your daily dose of poker news with the PTP Hit and Run.

Props Get Paid up to 125% Rakeback. Click for Offers >>>