GM ends 9-year endorsement Woods
General Motors contract with Tiger Woods ends in 2009.
Woods has been carrying the Buick logo on his golf bag for the last nine years.
and still had one year left on his contract.
General Motors was looking to cut costs and decided that the contract with Woods would be the choice while trying to survive the decline of sales.
Larry Peck stated that Buick had a great partnership with Woods, and that it will be hard for the partnership to end. Larry added that this decision frees up time for him and frees up a lot of money for Buick.
The endorsement deal, believed to be worth at least $7 million a year, was to expire at the end of 2009.
Woods has endorsed GM products and has been seen in Buick commercials. Peck said during the launch a few years ago of the Enclave, its research showed that 78 percent of consumers who bought the SUV previously had not been Buick owners, he added the credit to Woods.
Mark LaNeve said GM and Woods started discussing an end to the deal earlier this year, and it had nothing to do with the Detroit Three automakers' quest for $25 billion in federal loans.
Woods agent at IMG, Mark Steinberg, said the decision to end the relationship one year early was mutual.
Buick will also cut back on its deal providing courtesy cars at PGA Tour events. We will not get the great deals after the Stanford/St. Jude.
Buick remains the title sponsor of two PGA Tour events - the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, which Woods has won six times; and the Buick Open outside Detroit, which Woods has won twice.
