I suspect that many top athletes can get whatever equipment they want for free under the guise of "endorsements". Tiger Woods doesn't pay for his golf clubs, if anything his golf club manufacturer pays for the right to say "Tiger Woods uses our golf clubs".[1] Michael Jordan never paid for his Air Jordans, but Nike paid him a pretty penny.

It's the same for top musicians, incidentally. If you're selling musical instruments, you're selling to people who follow music and are influenced by which instruments their favorite musicians use. So it's cost-effective to give famous musicians whatever they want in exchange for a plug or two.

[1] Bad example as of late since Tiger Woods has become unpopular and is struggling with his form.