The business of Tiger Woods has faced some downfalls throughout the last two years. Sponsors like Accenture, AT&T, Gillette, and PepsiCo have dropped Woods since his November 2009 car crash and the resulting scandal. His golf course design business has been hurt by the economic instability and his winless streak on the course is at 20 months and counting. The former number one golfer in the world is currently ranked 55th.

Despite all of this negativity regarding the business of Tiger Woods, he is still the highest paid athlete in the world. He earned $75 million over the past 12 months. This easily surpasses the $53 million the second place Kobe Bryant earned throughout the last 12 months.
Tiger Woods can thank two long term sponsors for his income. Nike singed Woods to a five year $40 million deal when he turned pro in 1998. Electronic Arts released its first “Tiger Woods PGA Tour” videogame in 1998.

These two companies have built significant businesses off of Tiger Woods and his paycheck from both have grown. Nike launched its golf division with Woods ultimately holding up the brand. Last year it reported sales of $638 million. EA released its 14th Tiger Woods Videogame in March, and the game racked up record first-week sales of 225,000. This number topped the old sales record by 17%. EA and Nike combined are responsible for more than half of Woods $75 million income.