The One Man Stimulus Package
February 26th, 2009 by mleydenIn an era when large companies are shutting their doors every day, when constant money makers like professional sports are even struggling, there is one league that is getting a massive bailout.
That bailout’s name is Tiger Woods, and his return to professional golf since an injury sidelined him in April 2008 is the best thing any business could ever ask for. Virtually every major tournament that Woods missed in 2008 and 2009 saw its television ratings cut in half, or more. Most weekend tournaments had a ratings drop between 40% and 78% from the last time Tiger played to the next year’s Tiger-less tourney.
Major sports leagues are struggling to keep up with the revenue they are used to, and it shows. Many teams are raising ticket prices, and many talented players aren’t getting the contracts they expect. With the exception of the New York Yankees, Major League Baseball teams are not handing out the lucrative contracts they usually do in the off season. Dallas Maverick’s owner said that this upcoming NBA off season could be a “nuclear winter” for free agents expecting big contracts. The NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes are in such enormous debt to the city of Glendale, AZ that they may not be able to finish the current season. The Arena Football League went as far as to cancel its entire 2009 season, with the hope that they can get the league up and running in 2010.
That is what makes Tiger Woods’ timing so great for the PGA Tour. The league has been losing sponsors as of late, including U.S. Bank, Ginn Resorts, and FBR (Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc.) He is the biggest draw in their sport, if not all sports. He went on hiatus at perhaps his highest moment of celebrity ever, after winning the 2008 U.S. Open with a fractured leg, unknown to the world at the time. After his victory and the news that he had been playing injured, people fawned over Woods and his ability. He then announced he would be undergoing surgery and sitting out the rest of the year. Woods returned yesterday to play in the Accenture Match Play Championship, and finished the day in the lead.
High spending New York Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner joked last week that the Yankees are “basically baseball’s stimulus package“. Golf’s stimulus package is no joke, however. His name is Tiger Woods.