LIV to Golf Another Day
A $550M+ deal to poach Jon Rahm is once again roiling golf
There sure has been a lot of money flying around this past week.
There was that $700M contract for all-world baseball star Shohei Ohtani, who ended up barely moving after all. The more we learn about the negotiations, which were… something, it seems like this was the plan all along. Stay put, cash in.
And yes, the deferrals are nuts. It’s all pretty nuts. But you know who has way more money than the L.A. Dodgers? As in roughly 140 times as much? Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund!
Jon Rahm’s new deal with LIV Golf wasn’t too far behind the Ohtani deal, and he’s not taking deferrals. He’s thought to be getting north of $300M upfront, which would put him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo — also plying his trade in the Gulf these days — as the highest-paid athlete in the world this year.
Over the course of the contract, he will roughly 10x his lifetime earnings as a pro golfer. He took the money, despite previously staking a claim as the moral vanguard of the sport. He would never, until he did.
If nothing else, it’s an instructive lesson in strategic communications. I’d be avoiding public events for a while, too. Setting aside the ethics of Rahm’s decision, though, his defection tells us a lot about the still-tenuous state of the sport.
Kumbaya? No?
For me, and probably others, the first question that came to mind on the Rahm news was Wait: this is still happening? Didn’t these guys bury the hatchet back in June? I thought we were done with the poaching thing. Is everyone not on the same team now?
Yeah, so — not really. You may have caught some of those “clock’s ticking” mentions I’ve been dropping in over the last few months. Those were in reference to the rival leagues’ December 31 deadline to actually reach the deal they have so far only agreed in principle to try and reach.
Safe to say that deadline’s in serious danger, and with it, the promise of any stability in golf. The ceasefire’s off, and the knives are back out.
Now, to be clear, the two parties can agree to an extension in the next few weeks, and I figure they still will, unless a lot more than I realized has fundamentally changed since June.
That is not a given, though, and what the move on Rahm tells me above all is that LIV is frustrated with their new partners. It looks like a couple things: a power play to move negotiations forward in a manner that suits them, and a friendly reminder of who has the bigger checkbook here.
It’s not subtext. They’re saying it pretty loud: We can keep doing this. We’ll take everyone else, too, because — contrary to the rumors of our demise back in June — we’re not going anywhere, and you might just need us more than we need you.
I’m inclined to believe the reporting that suggests it’s the PGA side who’s been dragging their feet, which makes sense. They’re making more changes than the Saudis are to accommodate a partnership. They’re also the ones exploring other investors, which I’m sure has had the PIF pretty (don’t) miffed.
But the points of contention aren’t confined to what a new partnership would look like. Some of the biggest arguments have reportedly been around how the PGA is already structured, which current players don’t want grandfathered into this brave new arrangement with LIV.
It’s all a big callback to how this whole row started with Lefty. It’s never been as simple as the Saudis being able to blow everyone away with Godfather offers, though that’s kept the plot moving.
The PGA Tour hasn’t had its house in good enough order to rebuff the threat, and they apparently still don’t. It’s hard to be loyal to someone you can’t trust, hence this once-unthinkable Rahm move coming together.
The PGA Tour remains under extreme financial duress, which is why they went to the trouble of selling out in the first place, but they appear to be in such dysfunction right now that they’re unable to do even that.
If the deal falls through, then there’s the prospect of renewed legal action, which neither side really wants to deal with. The PGA Tour frankly can’t afford it, and PIF governor Yassir Al-Rumayyan has no desire to answer subpoenas on the Hill and have to field questions about the Saudi regime under oath.
If the deal comes together, then there’s the Department of Justice to worry about. U.S. regulators haven’t taken their eye off the potential antitrust concerns of what could take shape here. They’re just still wondering what that’s going to be.
And hey, so are the rest of us. But it’s fair now to wonder what the hell is going on. All we’ve established so far is that the PGA Tour is perfectly willing to take the money. They’ve already given up the moral high ground, and their other biggest source of leverage — the players — isn’t firmly with them either.
So… rough couple of quarters. I wish everyone luck at the corporate holiday party. There’s always next year.
Also, This
There have also been some backhands flying around this week! Oh, Draymond. An indefinite suspension seems a bit much on its face, but it seems the NBA is treating this as part of a pattern, which seems… reasonable.
There have also allegedly been some elbows flying around? As well as at least one confirmed angry Giannis. That post-game scuffle over the game ball Wednesday night was all a bizarre consequence of the In-Season Tournament final not technically counting, which seems… less reasonable.
Everybody seems to be running hot this week. Patrick Mahomes looked about as mad as I’ve ever seen him, in the course of claiming — wildly incorrectly, I might add — that Kadarius Toney was not in fact offsides.
But if you thought I was going to go this whole post without mentioning the touchdown that that penalty nullified, you’re dead wrong. Kelce tried playing rugby flyhalf with the cross-field lateral, and it was sick. It didn’t count, because we don’t deserve nice things, but it showed us what we’re missing. Embrace the possibilities, people!
Not to kick a guy while he’s down, but if the Chargers haven’t fired Brandon Staley by the time this goes out, he might actually be invincible. I thought that might be the first halftime casualty in history when I checked the score last night. 42-0! At half! Against Aidan O’Connell! Bless us, every one.
Another legal setback for the NCAA, as a federal court is now preventing the organization from enforcing their policy requiring college athletes who transfer schools more than once to either sit out a year or obtain a waiver to play.
The Stove has cooled a bit, but shoutout to the Giants, forever the bridesmaid, for signing who I think will be a great get: Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee. His nickname is “Grandson of the Wind,” so he’ll fit right in in the Bay.
And if you’re thinking: now hold on, pal, the Windy City is Chicago, then let me tell you something I just Googled. Chicago isn’t even an especially windy city! May the truth set you free.