Nike await as McIlroy checks out of Jumeirah

The Jumeirah Group is not renewing its five-year sponsorship deal with top-ranked Rory McIlroy amid expectations that the Northern Ireland golf star will sign with Nike next week.

The global luxury hotel company based in United Arab Emirates signed the deal with McIlroy when he was 18 and was one of his first corporate sponsors.

“I would like to thank everyone at the company for their support in helping me become the player I am today,” McIlroy said in a statement.

“I have enjoyed five very exciting and successful years with Jumeirah and have great memories of my time with the company. Celebrating my first professional win at the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic with the Jumeirah team was a particular highlight.”

Gerald Lawless, president and chief executive of Jumeirah Group, described McIlroy as a “tremendous ambassador for our brand, both as a consummate golfing professional and as a young man with a great future ahead of him”.

The announcement allows McIlroy to pursue a lucrative endorsement contract, with strong indications he will sign with Nike in a deal that one industry observer estimated at $20 million (€15m) a year. That would give Nike golf’s two biggest stars in McIlroy and Tiger Woods, who has been with the sportswear company since he turned pro in 1996.

In October, McIlroy cut ties with Acushnet, which supplied him with Titleist and FootJoy gear since turning pro in 2008.