Tiger Woods seems to be less on people's minds these days, as the holidays are drawing people closer together and a little farther from the lure of TMZ. And while we have been on the edge of our seats in recent weeks watching to see which of Wood's endorsers would drop him because of his titilating-yet-tawdry sex scandals, we haven't given a single thought to how Woods' woes might be affecting other stakeholders in Tiger's world of business.

Well, the New York Daily News has finally put a price tag on what Tiger Woods' "transgressions" are costing the many organizations that have invested in his image. The Daily News reports:

Tiger Woods is not the only one who blew big bucks with his image-busting cheating spree.

His losses are chump change compared with the up to $12 billion that the scandal has cost shareholders of his big-money sponsors like Nike, AT&T and Gatorade, a study revealed Monday.

"Total shareholder losses may exceed several decades' worth of Tiger Woods' personal endorsement income," said study author Victor Stango, a professor at the University of California Davis.

The study compared the stock prices of nine Woods sponsors with competitors and the overall market after the scandal erupted last month.

Investors in the three sports-related companies - video gamemaker Electronic Arts, Gatorade and Nike - fared the worst, experiencing a 4.3% drop in stock value.

Ouch! Tiger Woods really had a lot riding on his name, not only for himself but for the millions of people who have invested in the brands he is (or was) representing. Was the destruction of his family, the loss of Woods' personal wealth through divorce and lost endorsements, and the shattering of stock value for investors worth the clandestine unions Tiger shared with women in shallow relationships? This sad situation makes me want to ask that cliched post-coital question: "Was it good for you?" I bet now, months after the affairs are merely shady memories, Tiger Woods would say "No."

But it's too late now. Tiger's sex antics have cost so many so much, on the professional and personal levels, and now in the arena of collective wealth represented by stock markets and large companies. Woods will have a lot to contemplate on his birthday tomorrow, and as he goes into the new year. The issue of moral integrity, and the necessity of it as a businessman and brand, might be a burning question in Tiger's mind right now. I hope the answers to these issues inform Tiger Woods as he struggles to rebuild his life and brand in 2010.