Fan benefit of the new PGA TOUR investment deal unlikely
The PGA TOUR’s new investment deal with the Strategic Sport Group (SSG) has been announced to the tune of $3 billion with an overall valuation of the men’s pro golf tour over $12 billion. Uniformly heralded by the Tour’s Player Advisory Board as a positive move for the “game,” additional focus is being placed on how this will benefit fans in the process.
Don’t believe it.
As we’ve covered multiple times by now on this topic, the world of men’s pro golf has become saturated with greed and astronomical dollar amounts that nobody reading this will ever see in their checking accounts. The same can be said, of course, for fans of any professional sport. Fans are spectators to the action taking place on the field of play and the contract negotiations occurring in board rooms. It’s all fun to talk about over a beer at your favorite sports bar as we sit back and offer armchair analysis on why the signing of one player makes sense (or doesn’t) over another.
We revel in these types of debates. It’s the reason why fantasy sports are as popular as they are. Fans think we can do a better job as general manager of a fictitious sports team or roster than those actually doing it for a living. The money we threw around with abandon as kids playing Monopoly has transitioned into funny money we use to “sign” players in digital fantasy teams. None of it is real, none of it pays our bills, and it’s all used as an escape from everyday worries or stresses.
When we see news of Jon Rahm earning upwards of $500 million to join the rival LIV Golf tour, or the SSG investing $3 billion into the PGA TOUR, or the top 200-ish players receiving a piece of a $900 million pie, none of it can possibly register in the minds of the common fan. These are just numbers to us. They are details of a fairy tale written with greed and read with intrigue. Yet many of the golfers whom we embrace are trying to sell something to us that also doesn’t exist.
For example, when Max Homa offered his take on the PGA TOUR/SSG agreement, I was curious as to how fans would benefit from it. His response was thoughtful and made a lot of sense, but after further reflection still seemed like a polished talking point one might hear about the latest fantasy book in an ongoing series.
On its surface, the point Max raises is entirely correct. The difference between what the SSG has agreed to and what the Public Investment Fund (PIF) continues to spend on player acquisitions is stark. As Max points out, the former is literally investing in a league with the expectation of a massive return while the latter is… kind of just giving money away.
Sure, you could argue that LIV Golf needs to make a return on their acquisitions, but let’s be serious. Their viewership numbers aren’t anywhere close to being what they need to be in order for sponsors to pay attention. Off-course press and stories aren’t helping their public image by any stretch. A highly divisive social climate also contributes to the outlook of a fanbase that, let’s face it, falls into a certain extreme category.
The PGA TOUR still has to keep up with LIV, however, and this recent agreement is entirely to the benefit of the players. Fans haven’t been asking for any of this. Fans aren’t the ones complaining about the perceived hardships of PGA TOUR life. We just want a telecast that doesn’t litter us with commercials during a tournament’s critical moments. We want ticket prices that aren’t drastically increasing one year over the next. We don’t want to pay $20 for a beer if we’re fortunate enough to attend an event.
I’m not sure how any of those factors improve as a result of this investment. If anything, I’d expect all of those variables to increase significantly.
Any argument that the on-course product will also improve as a direct result of this investment is also unfounded. Love them or hate them, many of the game’s biggest names — Rahm, Koepka, DeChambeau, Mickelson, Johnson, Reed, etc. — are no longer on the PGA TOUR and won’t be at the events included in the final TOUR valuation number of $12 billion. In some ways the product has become less valuable in the eyes of a fan, yet this investment is supposed to also benefit us?
This goes without saying, but it’s OK if the PGA TOUR wants to protect its best interests as a business in the midst of a nasty battle with a competitor. To assert that any of this is being done for the betterment of golf fandom is absurd at best and downright insulting at worst.
