Tiger Woods earnings were down 50% before arrest

Updated

Tiger Woods used to be one of the most famous golfers in the world, but in recent years he's fallen into the shadows of the sporting world.

But last weekend, during the Memorial Day day holiday in the USA, Woods raced back into the headlines, but not for the right reasons.

See also: Cannon and Ball star Tommy Cannon goes bankrupt

See also: Wayne Rooney blows £500,000 in two hours while gambling

The sportsman was arrested for 'driving under the influence' in Florida.

He later claimed a bad reaction to medication was the cause.

Woods has not won a major golf championship since 2008 and hasn't had a tour win since 2013.

As a result of this his earnings have dropped massively - Woods once had an estimated net worth of $1 billion.

He had earned more than $100 million (£77.6m) annually but he is now making less than half than that per year.

Last year the 41-year-old earned more than $45 million (£35m) in endorsement deals and his net worth is now at around $740 million (£57.4m).

However Nike, one of the biggest sportswear companies in the world, has remained loyal to Woods and in 2013 the company signed a $100 million deal with him.

Critics have called on the brand to drop Woods but Nike have yet to comment on the events of last weekend.

Despite all of this he is still ranked the 12th highest paid athlete of last year - losing the Nike deal could have a huge impact on this for 2017 though.

Advertisement