Woods' corporate sponsors stand by golfer

The corporate pillars of Tiger Inc., held firm again Wednesday, even in the wake of Tiger Woods' public admission of "transgressions'' in his private life.

Among the key sponsors weighing in were Nike, Gatorade and EA Sports, which continued to stand by the golfer.

"Nike supports Tiger and his family,'' the company that is most closely associated with Woods said in a statement. "Our relationship remains unchanged.''

Gillette said it had no plans to change its marketing programs. AT&T declined to comment.

Most marketing experts agree there will be little or no short-term effect on Woods' portfolio, as long as nothing worse emerges and as long as he keeps winning on the course.

Former Nike executive Vada Manager, who dealt with the company's responses to past crises involving Kobe Bryant and Marion Jones, offered this take to CNBC:

"Tiger's statement makes it a lot easier for the companies that have deals with him, because there's not a lingering cloud over him. In the short term, it's definitely uncomfortable. But in the long term, this all will have negligible impact.''

Tom McCartin, president of the New York advertising firm Agency 212, said, "What might come from this is he and his family become sympathetic figures in the eyes of the public and he perhaps forges an even deeper relationship with fans who now see him as human and say, 'Wow, this guy is a lot like me.'

"One of the big things you look for in an endorsement is someone people can relate to."

Bob Boland, a professor of sports business at NYU, said, "I don't think it's going to have any tremendous impact on his career except for the fact if he gets divorced that could be extraordinarily costly."

The more subtle effect, Boland said, could be on the rest of the sports marketing industry. If the man at the top of the pyramid, one with a previously clean image, can be compromised, it might cause advertisers to wonder whether any investment in a sports celebrity truly is safe.

It is too soon to say whether Woods' future endorsement value has been irretrievably damaged.

"It's going to go back to how good a golfer he is," said Boland, who like McCartin noted that on the list of "transgressions" in the sports world, Woods' are far from the worst.

Boland scoffed at comparisons to Bryant's 2003 sexual assault case.

"This is a radically different story," he said. "Tiger Woods is accused of something that might get him sent to Congress."