Tiger Woods Nixes Offer from Paddy Power - 03-06-10

March 6 - Tiger Woods, the world's most famous golfer who has been in the headlines lately for all the wrong reasons, has been offered a sponsorship deal by the leading UK bookie, Paddy Power.

Woods' unfortunate accident with his car on Thanksgiving Eve led to the opening of a Pandora's Box of infidelities where up to 12 women later claimed that he had engaged in illicit affairs them.

Woods' wife, Elin, eventually left him, and the golfer took an extended leave of absence from his brilliant sporting career.

Last month, Woods held a press conference where he apologized to his family and sponsors but would not specify a date for his return to golf.

One of the biggest problems facing Woods is the fact that he is being slowly dropped by his chief sponsors.

Paddy Power decided to approach Woods' agents, IMG and offer him a five year sponsorship to endorse their products and services for the sum of $75 million.

"We're in negotiations with IMG to sponsor Tiger," said Paddy Power upon making the offer. "It's still in the early stage of the negotiations, really, to be honest with you. But if it all comes off, it'll be the biggest sponsorship deal we've done by quite some way."

But even Paddy Power had to admit that there was not much chance of Woods taking up the offer.

The US Golfing Association specifically warns its players to refuse sponsorship from gambling organizations, which means that a deal with Paddy Power is probably not on the cards.

IMG also put out a statement which said: "We're not involved in any discussions to add to his sponsorship portfolio at this time."

Time will tell whether Tiger Woods will reconsider this offer, as the longer he sits on the sidelines and contemplates his future, the less huge sponsorships he will have in his portfolio in the long run.

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