The ratio of marketing spending to total sales hasn't budged in five years. Over that time, analysts and sports executives have debated the wisdom of Nike's endorsement strategy.

Nike shares are up 90% over the past five years. But investors are disappointed with the stock's 10% decline from its all-time high of $91.70 in December 2004.

"Four hundred-plus million dollars is a lot of money for athlete endorsements alone," says Ben Sturner, president of Leverage Sports Agency, a New York-based sports marketing company. "Brands like New Balance, for example, spend zero dollars on athlete endorsements, and New Balance is a top 5 company, in terms of athletic shoes."

Despite the occasional criticism, Nike has done an impressive job in scouting athletic talent. Woods has won five consecutive Professional Golf Association tournaments and 12 majors over the past decade. James is living up to the incredible hype that accompanied his jump from an Akron, Ohio, high school to the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA draft. And Maria Sharapova, who is paid $6 million a year by Nike, claimed her first U.S. Open tennis title earlier this month wearing a black Nike tennis dress.

"It's not like back five or 10 years ago, where Nike had a whole lot of athletes under endorsement deals that you'd really question why they were paying those guys," says John Shanley, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group.