News

CNBC report: IMG's Tiger hit is $4.6 million

June 18, 2010

CNBC's sports business reporter Darren Rovell is reporting that CNBC reviewed a confidential document that reveals that IMG lost $4.6 million from fees tied to Tiger Woods' lost endorsement contracts in the wake of his off-course problems.

Accenture and AT&T dropped Woods as a spokesman late last year, while Gatorade severed ties earlier this year. Rovell writes:

"IMG, like other agencies, charges its clients between 15 and 20 percent on endorsement deals it secures, so if it lost $4.6 million on Tiger's endorsements, it would mean the golfer himself lost in between $23 million and $30 million in deals last year.

"That said, it isn't known what fee Woods pays the company. Presumably, a marquee client such as Woods would pay less than the standard fee."

The hit to IMG is insignificant in the context of its business in general.

"The report notes that no single client, or any IMG managed property for that matter, earns more than two percent of revenue for its sports and entertainment division," Rovell writes.

"The agency part of our business -- I'm happy to be in it," IMG chairman and CEO Ted Forstmann told CNBC earlier this week. "It's a lot of fun. We are the biggest in all of these things and it's nice to be there, but it's a very small part of our business. So whatever happens with Tiger Woods, it's not going to have a huge effect on IMG."

-- John Strege