Granted, Tiger is the most popular athlete in the world and the one most identifiable with his respective sport. But unlike other sports, he has to earn that each year. Miss a cut, miss a check. The notion a fat up-front payday is odd in golf. It amounts to appearance money.
Tiger benefits from the existing structure, to say the least.
The televising of his golf events provides Nike and all of Tiger's partners with an awful lot of exposure. Which they trade on to do business. It's not like there is some wrong here that needs to be righted. People who have a lot should be careful when they ask for more. We like watching him play against the other top players in the world.