Rory McIlroy's Nike deal is not to be scoffed at

Rory McIlroy today boasted on Twitter he had won $50 from Graeme McDowell who bet the world No1 golfer he could not eat a breakfast of broccoli topped off with blueberry yoghurt.

But the winnings will pale into insignificance if, as expected, McIlory signs a lucrative 10-year deal to join Tiger Woods in the Nike stable.

Reports in the US that Nike have offered McIlroy £156million to switch from Titleist equipment and FootJoy shoes when his contract with those brands ends at the end of the year may be wide of the mark by £30m.

But even annual backing of at least £12.5m would put the 23-year-old almost on a par with Woods.