Longtime sponsors are sticking with Tiger Woods–for now.

But the world's most famous athlete, who offered a "profound apology" Wednesday following allegations of infidelity, might find new deals hard to come by, marketing experts say, and the loyalty of existing sponsors could be tested by any additional tawdry stories or his reluctance to address the issue publicly.

"Unfortunately for Tiger, the situation is not over," said Bob Williams, CEO of Burns Entertainment and Sports Marketing, which represents companies looking to hire celebrities to sell their brands.

"The linchpin will be when he addresses the public for the first time," Williams said, adding that will help companies determine how they feel about him.

Forbes estimated earlier this year that Woods was the first athlete to surpass US$1 billion in career earnings, more than 80% of that coming from endorsements with companies such as Nike, Gillette, Gatorade and AT&T.

Nike, Gatorade and EA Sports all released statements Wednesday expressing their support or commitment to Woods, and Gillette said it had no plans to change its marketing programs. AT&T declined comment.

"Brands look at how impactful a spokesperson can be for their for brand but also what the public outcry or public opinion would be," said David Schwab of Octagon First Call, which also links athletes and marketers. "If a brand drops him, there could potentially be negativity toward the brand for doing so.

"That's why brands typically weather the storm."

But companies that may have wanted to align themselves with Woods might rethink that–particularly companies whose target audience is women or children. Part of Woods' appeal has been his pristine image, off the course as well as on, and events of the last week have tainted that, making him an easy target.

Zeta Interactive's "Zeta Buzz" mines more than 100 million blogs, message boards and social media posts to analyze the feelings of potential consumers. In the past, terms most associated with Woods were "Masters," "golf" and "winning,"

Zeta CEO Al DiGuido said in the last week, that's changed to "affair" and "cheat." 

The tone of posts has also changed, he said. Before the car crash, 91% were positive. That's now down to 74%.

"As much as he wants to put this behind him, what's happening now is the alleged scandal is starting to fuel the buzz, and it's not positive for Tiger Woods," DiGuido said. "The volume is continuing to grow and the negative side of it is getting more intense.

"It would be something that (if you're a sponsor) you would watch pretty closely because it starts to take on a life of its own."

Toronto-based social media and word of mouth agency Com.Motion also tracked a huge spike it Tiger Woods blog postings and Twitter traffic in the days after the story broke. By choosing to stay quiet, Woods actually inflamed the story online, said Sean McDonald, account manager. "Had Tiger Woods made a statement earlier, had he divulged the reality far earlier on, the value of the information by the women involved would have been much lower," he said.

"Basically by holding on to it and not saying anything, he created interest around what they had to say. He could have made the same statement earlier and people would have said ‘Okay we know what's going on here, we don't need to search frantically.' "