Tiger Woods Prenup Agreement: Wife Offered Millions to Stay

Tiger Woods is retooling his prenuptial agreement with wife Elin Nordegren in a new deal that will be worth $60 million to her two years from now -- if she stays that long. Apparently, Tiger's public apology in which he took full responsibility for his "transgressions" was not enough to save his marriage. The Daily Beast reports that:

Words are evidently not enough to mollify Elin: The Daily Beast has learned the details of what it's costing Tiger to keep his marriage intact. A lawyer familiar with the hastily conducted negotiations of the past 72 hours said that as of Wednesday evening Elin has been offered a $5 million payment immediately if she agrees to stay-and her prenuptial agreement is being revised to give her up to an additional $55 million.

When the couple married on Oct. 5, 2004, at the Sandy Lane resort in Barbados, Elin signed a prenuptial agreement reportedly worth $20 million after 10 years of marriage, not considered a large payout for someone who was already as successful as Tiger by then. (Source)

Elin must stay with Woods for two more years to be eligible for the $60 million pay out. As the couple has been married for five years already, this seven year period is a reduction from the ten years required for a settlement in their previous agreement. If Elin elects to stay with Tiger for five more years after this two-year period, Nordegren will be entitled to $80 million.

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Elin Nordegren Photos

FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2009, file photo, Tiger Woods' wife, Elin Nordegren, looks at her cell phone as she waits at the first green during the third round of the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Tiger Woods said he let his family down with "transgressions" he regrets "with all of my heart," and that he will deal with his personal life behind closed doors. His statement Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, follows a cover story in Us Weekly magazine that reports a Los Angeles cocktail waitress claims she had a 31-month affair with the world's No. 1 golfer. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - In this June 11, 2009, file photo, Tiger Woods and his wife, Elin Nordegren watch the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the NBA basketball finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic in Orlando, Fla. Tiger Woods said he let his family down with "transgressions" he regrets "with all of my heart," and that he will deal with his personal life behind closed doors. His statement Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, follows a cover story in Us Weekly magazine that reports a Los Angeles cocktail waitress claims she had a 31-month affair with the world's No. 1 golfer. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - In this May 13, 2007, file photo, Tigers Woods' wife Elin, walks the course during the final round of The Players Championship golf tournament at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Tiger Woods said he let his family down with "transgressions" he regrets "with all of my heart," and that he will deal with his personal life behind closed doors. His statement Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, follows a cover story in Us Weekly magazine that reports a Los Angeles cocktail waitress claims she had a 31-month affair with the world's No. 1 golfer. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 23, 2003, file photo, United States' golfer Tiger Woods, right, stands near his girlfriend Elin Nordegren, left, during the final day of the Presidents Cup 2003 Golf Tournament at the Fancourt Golf Estate in George, South Africa. Tiger Woods said he let his family down with "transgressions" he regrets "with all of my heart," and that he will deal with his personal life behind closed doors. His statement Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, follows a cover story in Us Weekly magazine that reports a Los Angeles cocktail waitress claims she had a 31-month affair with the world's No. 1 golfer. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - This is a Nov. 21, 2009, file photo showing Tiger Woods with his daughter, Sam, and wife, Elin, before the start of an NCAA college football game between Stanford and California, in Stanford, Calif. Tiger Woods said he let his family down with transgressions he regrets "with all of my heart," and that he will deal with his personal life behind closed doors. His statement Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, follows a cover story in Us Weekly magazine that reports a Los Angeles cocktail waitress claims she had a 31-month affair with the world's No. 1 golfer. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

(FILES)Elin Nordegren, wife of US team member Tiger Woods,smiles at the Presidents Cup golf competiton in this October 10, 2009 file photo at Harding Park Golf course in San Francisco, California. A US nightclub hostess denied December 1, 2009 a fling with Tiger Woods ahead of his mysterious car crash, as the world's top golfer remained cooped up in his Florida mansion four days after the accident. Woods, who was found lying dazed beside his wrecked car on Friday at 2:25 am with facial cuts and bruises after driving into a fire hydrant and a tree, has refused to speak to police about the crash, fueling wild media speculation. AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

(FILES)US team member Tiger Woods (C) and his wife Elin Nordegren (L) sit with team members at the winner's award ceremony at the Presidents Cup golf compeititon in this October 11, 2009 file photo at Harding Park Golf course in San Francisco, California. A nightclub hostess said by US tabloids to have been having a fling with golf star Tiger Woods ahead of his mysterious car crash said on December 1, 2009 that the story was no truer than "aliens on Earth." "It's the most ridiculous story. It's like they are asking me to comment if there are aliens on Earth," Rachel Uchitel told the New York Post daily. The Enquirer and Star gossip tabloids have reported that Woods was having an affair with Uchitel and that the dalliance prompted a violent dispute between the megastar and his wife, leading to Friday's car accident. AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

And what is required of Elin should she decide to stay with Woods for the full seven years? The prenuptial agreement between Elin and Tiger requires her to act like a perfectly happy woman in a perfect marriage while in public at all times. Plus, there is a life-long gag order attached, preventing Nordegren from ever telling her perspective on the real Tiger Woods.

It sounds like she is being emotionally bound and gagged, much to Tiger's benefit. While $80 million is a lot of money, it is Wood's clean image, in addition to his golf skills, that has enabled him to earn almost $1 billion. Elin Nordegren and the family she has created with him are very much part of that image. By paying her to stay, she is essentially saving him hundreds of millions in endorsements -- right now and in the future. Is $80 million dollars after seven years enough compensation to stay in a personal relationship with someone who constantly cheats -- and is a sloppy cheat at that -- when he could make another billion dollars in that time period?

I can't say what I would do in such a situation. It sounds eerily as though Tiger Woods is paying Elin Nordegren to be a happy wife -- rather than putting in the effort to make her one. This will significantly impact her emotional health over time, perhaps leading to physical effects as studies have shown. Lifelong financial security is an excellent incentive for selling your personal happiness. But what will Elin tell her daughter Sam about what type of treatment to expect from a man, when Nordegren is willing to accept money in the place of actual fidelity and respect? Can even $100 million replace the feeling of security in love that a loyal and faithful relationship brings? How could such an arrangement negatively affect their daughter's feelings about Tiger and other men? These are questions that Elin Nordegren must answer for herself.

What would this kind of business-marriage mean to you?

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