$20 million for at least 5 years (approximately 25.37 billion won). This is the amount that Kim Joo-hyung (21) is known to receive from global sports brand Nike.

Kim Joo-hyung, who signed a main sponsorship contract with Nike, will have a meal with ‘golf emperor’ Tiger Woods (USA), ‘World Ranking No. 1′ Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), and tennis star Rafael Nadal (Spain). Kim Joo-hyung, who had a dream of becoming a professional golfer after watching Woods’ game in 2013, became a Nikeman like his ‘idol’ Woods in 10 years.

According to the golf world on the 6th, Kim Joo-hyung signed a long-term contract with Nike for at least 5 years at an annual price of 4 million dollars.

The news of the contract between Kim Joo-hyung and Nike was first announced during the practice round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions on the PGA Tour on the 3rd. At the time, Kim Joo-hyung posted a post tagging Nike on his social network service (SNS), along with a video of him wearing a Nike hat and shoes, saying, “I’m looking forward to a new journey.”

Kim Joo-hyung, who advanced to the PGA Tour through the Asian Tour and the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour, is a special player that the world pays attention to. Kim Joo-hyung, who has the highest male golf world ranking among Korean players, is receiving special attention as he won the most wins on the PGA Tour faster than Woods.

As the contract period with CJ Logistics, which he has been with since 2020, was until last year, one of the interests of golf fans was what kind of hat Kim Joo-hyung would wear this year.

The curiosity was resolved at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the first tournament of the 2023 PGA Tour. Kim Joo-hyung became a Nike man plastered with the Nike logo from head to toe.

Kim Joo-hyung is the third Korean player active on the PGA Tour to sign a main sponsorship contract with Nike. Prior to Kim Joo-hyung, Choi Kyung-joo (53) and Noh Seung-yeol (32) wore Nike caps on the PGA Tour. It is known that the amount Kim Joo-hyung receives from Nike greatly exceeds the level of Choi Kyung-ju and Roh Seung-yeol, who were Nike players from 2005 to 2009.

Kim Joo-hyung, who received about 100 million won a year from CJ Logistics, saw his ransom nearly 50 times higher in three years. Golf management officials found the reason why Kim Joo-hyung received a high evaluation from Nike was because of his star nature. An official familiar with the PGA Tour said, “Kim Joo-hyung is a player who can speak English perfectly with excellent skills. He has a special feature different from Korean players who have played the PGA Tour. As he has the qualities to become an enthusiastic player, Nike invested a large amount of money and signed a main sponsorship contract.”

Among sports players, including golf, wearing a Nike cap is of great significance. This is because it is a privilege that only players representing each sport can enjoy. Kim Joo-hyung also showed extraordinary pride for joining the Nike Corps. “I am proud that he is the only Asian player on the Nike team,” said Kim Joo-hyung. 메이저사이트

Depending on the performance of the next five years, there is also a prospect that a special contract of more than 10 million dollars a year will be signed. This is because most of the players who renewed their contracts with Nike, such as McIlroy and Choi Kyung-ju, were guaranteed a large amount. McIlroy, who renewed his contract with Nike in 2017, is known to have been guaranteed a 10-year contract for $100 million a year.

Officials in the golf world agreed, “If you look at Kim Joo-hyung’s right arm sleeve, you can see the status that has changed from before.”

Nike, as can be seen from its players such as Woods and McIlroy, does not allow other sponsors to be exposed other than the Nike logo. However, the logo (AP) of the Swiss luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet is still written on the sleeve of Kim Joo-hyung’s right arm. Not only this. Kim Joo-hyung, who continued to accompany Titleist, only signed a ball and club contract like Jordan Spieth (USA).

An official in the golf goods industry said, “It is unusual for a Nike player to wear a logo of a brand other than the Nike logo.”

Kim Joo-hyung proved with his skills why Nike chose him in the first round of the PGA Tour Sentry Tournament of Champions held at the Kapalua Plantation Course (par 73) in Kapalua, Maui Island, Hawaii. Kim Joo-hyung, who tied 2 eagles, 5 birdies, and 1 bogey, and recorded 8 under par 65 strokes, was in 4th place alone, one stroke behind the joint leaders such as Yon Ram (Spain) and Colin Morikawa (USA).