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 controversy.

"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.

In a statement released Wednesday, Woods said he had "not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves."

Forbes estimated earlier this year that Woods was the first athlete to surpass $1 billion in career earnings, more than 80 percent of that coming from endorsements with companies such as Nike, Gillette, Gatorade, and AT&T. Woods is also a Golf Digest playing editor.

Those are all long-term relationships, Octagon First Call's David Schwab said, partners not likely to dump him at the first rough patch.

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

"These are people who are invested with him in his foundation, his golf courses, across the board. So they're part of his family too," said Schwab, who also links companies and celebrities for branding opportunities.

In fact, cutting ties with Woods now could actually hurt a company, Schwab said.

"Brands look at how impactful a spokesperson can be for their brand but also what the public outcry or public opinion would be," he said. "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.

Jay Leno poked fun at Woods during his show Tuesday night. Spirit Airlines is trying to capitalize on his troubles too, offering an "eye of the tiger" sale, which they're promoting with a video that shows a tiger in a baseball cap driving an SUV into a fire hydrant.

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, DiGuido said.