Woods ends deal with Nike, a partnership that lasted 27 years

Tiger Woods announced Monday that he has ended his 27-year partnership with apparel king Nike.

Inking a deal with Nike when he was 20 years old, Woods went on to win 82 PGA Tour titles and 15 majors wearing the swoosh of Nike.

Woods, who turned 48 on Dec. 30, initially signed a five-year deal with Nike for $40 million.

“Over 27 years ago, I was fortunate to start a partnership with one of the most iconic brands in the world. The days since have been filled with so many amazing moments and memories, if I started naming them, I could go on forever,” Woods said in a statement.

“Phil Knight’s passion and vision brought this Nike and Nike Golf partnership together and I want to personally thank him, along with the Nike employees and incredible athletes I have had the pleasure of working with along the way. People will ask if there is another chapter. Yes, there will certainly be another chapter. See you in LA!”

Woods is the tournament host of The Genesis Invitational, held in Los Angeles, which will be played Feb. 15-18.

Nike thanked Woods in an Instagram post, saying in part, “It was a hell of a round, Tiger . ... [You] challenged your competition, stereotypes, conventions, the old school way of thinking.”

Woods has been wearing FootJoy golf shoes for about two years.

MLB

Dodgers: Los Angeles’ spending spree continues. After investing more than $1 billion in three star acquisitions last month, the Dodgers made another splash Sunday night by agreeing to a one-year, $23.5 million deal with free-agent outfielder Teoscar Hernández.

The deal, first reported by ESPN, gives the Dodgers the right-handed-hitting outfielder they had coveted to complete their offseason. Hernández, 31, is an eight-year veteran and one-time all-star who has a career .261 batting average, .802 on-baseplus-slugging percentage and 159 home runs.

The slugger is coming off a down season in 2023 with the Seattle Mariners, when he batted just .258 with a .741 OPS. However, that was still above leagueaverage production, with Hernández collecting 26 home runs and 93 RBI.

The Dodgers had previously signed two-way star

Shohei Ohtani and pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.

Mets: Barring an unexpected addition, New York has rounded out its rotation by agreeing to a two-year, $28 million contract with southpaw

Sean Manaea.

Manaea, 31, spent last season with the San Francisco Giants and had a 4.44 ERA in 37 appearances, 10 of them starts. His record was 7-6.

He registered a career high in average fastball velocity (93.6 mph), leaving some optimism for an increase in performance.

He spent the first six seasons of his career with the Oakland A’s before heading to the San Diego Padres in 2022 and Giants in 2023. He has a 4.10 ERA in 196 games.

Manaea joins Luis Severino and Adrian Houser as the starting pitching additions by David Stearns during his first offseason as president of baseball operations.

Owner Steve Cohen has seemingly taken a more cautious approach to spending this season. The Mets have added shortterm/low-risk contracts, indicating that their window of contention will not open next season.

NHL

Maple Leafs: Toronto and forward William Nylander reached agreement on an eight-year contract extension, multiple outlets reported. TSN said the deal is worth $92 million, or an average annual value of $11.5 million. The deal, which goes through 2032, is the richest ever signed by Toronto and is expected to carry a full no-trade clause.

The Maple Leafs selected Nylander, 27, with the eighth pick in the 2014 draft. His 54 points in 37 games this season were tied Monday for fifth in the NHL.