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08:36 AM ET 07.09 | Why is there concern John Deere might pull out from the Quad Cities tour stop when its sponsorship deal expires after the 2010 event? Because nothing in the business world is status quo after months of collapsing markets and a global credit crisis. Every sponsorship deal, especially those in golf, is receiving fresh scrutiny. Deere officials would not comment on the company's annual sponsorship cost, but sources familiar with such arrangements estimate it at $6 million to $8 million a year. That covers 60 percent of the $4.3 million purse ($2.6 million), advertising buys on CBS and Golf Channel, corporate hospitality and a chartered jet that transports players, spouses and caddies to the following week's British Open. For that investment, the company receives an array of benefits: worldwide brand awareness, a vehicle for entertaining clients and a tie to the PGA Tour that helped Deere become its official equipment supplier. That deal runs through 2014. If Deere pulls out -- it's expected to decide by March -- several cities along the Illinois-Iowa border could be the big losers.