AT&T third sponsor to drop Tiger Woods

AT&T has become the third company to drop their sponsorship deal with Tiger Woods following his admission of “infidelity” to his wife in December.

The telecommunications firm did not disclose their reasons for ending the deal. In a terse statement sent by email, spokesman Steven Schwadron reportedly said “We are ending our sponsorship agreement with Tiger Woods and wish him well in the future.”

It is not known how much Woods’ deal with AT&T was worth. The golf star did not appear in advertising for the company, but has displayed their logo on his golf bag since February 2009. AT&T will continue to sponsor the national PGA tournament, but it will no longer by hosted by Woods, despite his prominent profile on the tournament’s webpage.

AT&T’s decision follows similar announcements from Accenture and Gillette, and marks a further decline in fortune for the billionnaire sports star.

In December Accenture ended their six-year relationship with Woods, who had been the face of their advertising. Woods had appeared in promotions for Gillette alongside fellow sportsmen Thierry Henry and Roger Federer, but the company announced that his position would be limited in the future.

Even the soft drinks giant Pepsico has decided that Woods is no longer a positive marketing tool, and have cancelled the launch of a planned “Tiger Focus” variety of Gatorade.

The abandoned advertising deals have followed the scandal which emerged after Woods’ car crash into a fire hydrant outside his Florida home on November 27th. Since then various allegations have emerged of his marital unfaithfulness.

Woods announced in December that he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence from professional golf to focus on “being a better husband, father, and person”. The golfer was the first sportsman to earn more than $1 billion from sponsorship deals and endorsements, according to the BBC, and the affair has seriously damaged his earning power.

A recent University of California study has found that the companies involved have already lost as much as $12 billion in market value as a result of the scandal. This vast sum is separate from whatever the impact has been on Woods’ personal fortune.

Woods has not been abandoned by all of his endorsement deals, however. Nike has given the golfer its “full support”, and Electronic Arts will continue to produce its ‘Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour Golf game.