Tiger Woods' agent Mark Steinberg no longer part of IMG
Tiger Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg has failed to renew his contract with IMG golf division, hence after 12 years, he is no longer the head of the sports management company.
The news was confirmed by Jim Gallagher, who is the spokesperson for IMG. Speaking of Steinberg, Gallagher stated, “He is no longer with IMG.”
Steinberg, whose contract is to expire in June was involved in negotiations with IMG on Tuesday, but the deal broke down. According to the insiders, the two parties could not reach a common ground and hence decided to split ways.
However, the details of the talks have not reached the media, as both the parties agreed to keep them confidential.
A question arises after the split, whether Woods would keep his relationship the same with IMG or will he leave it for his agent. Woods signed a contract with IMG in 1996 when he turned pro and hired the services of Steinberg after
a gap of three years. Ever since then, Steinberg has been handling his public relations and the endorsement deals. During the most stressful hour of Woods’ career, when brands were cancelling their sponsorship deals with Woods after his infidelity scandal,
Steinberg stood by his side and tried his utmost to get endorsements for the troubled player.
Leaving Woods in a dilemma, media questioned the richest athlete of 2009 on the decision to choose between IMG and Steinberg to which he replied, “I'm committed to both, with IMG, and Mark's my agent. It has been a great relationship.
I had a chance to go through a lot of ... basically my entire professional career and learn a lot about the business.”
Woods shed light on his relationship with the founder of IMG, Mark H. McCormack, and said that he shared a strong chemistry with the founder and he would often go to dinners with him until he passed away in 2003. On the other hand,
he stated that he was very happy with Mark Steinberg and wanted to continue with him as his agent.
The 35-year-old golfer quoted in this context, “Then obviously, my relationship with Mark (Steinberg), but I'm very happy with both.”
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