Loyalty Rewarded

The PGA tour announced this past week that they would be rewarding the loyalty of the golfers that chose to not jump ship to join the LIV golf tour. The payouts will be given to just under 200 players with a payout totaling $750 million. The majority will be going to the top 36 players based on a formula that includes popularity, career success, and various other factors. Tiger Woods is being awarded the greatest payout, at an estimated $100 million and Rory Mcilroy is set to make about half of that. Other high payouts include $30 million each for Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. The PGA also plans to payout up to $75 million to notable retired players.

These payments are going to be out yearly and spread out over the next 8 years. There will reportedly be roughly $100 million in equity handed out annually, although the payouts won’t be cash payouts, the equity given to players is nice gesture by the PGA as a sign of appreciation. These equity payments were made possible by the newly formed, for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises. PGA Tour Enterprises is owned by the PGA tour and it just recently received a $3 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group. The equity numbers given to players will also be based on the $12 billion valuation from the investment earlier this year when the Strategic Sports Group received 25% of PGA Tour Enterprises.

So what’s next for the PGA tour? As I talked about a few weeks ago, the PGA’s viewership numbers are actually down as whole over the last few weeks. Mostly because of the domination courtesy of Scottie Scheffler. The PGA plans to invest heavily into their future tournaments and ultimately work towards an eventual merger with the LIV Golf tour. Steve Cohen, owner of the New York Mets and part of Strategic Sports Group said his investment into the PGA tour was partially due to his belief that America is moving to a 4-day work week and golf will see a boom in viewership because of this. The future of golf is imminent, and America’s billionaires are buying in.

No More World Cup for USA and Mexico

The Women’s World Cup, set to be held in 2027 was heavily linked to a joint host from both the United States and Mexico. The two countries decided on Monday to pull their joint bid to host the tournament until the 2031 edition of the Women’s World Cup. The U.S.-Mexico joint bid was one of three finalists for the 2027 World Cup alongside Brazil and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, with the FIFA Congress set to vote on the 2027 host on May 17. US Soccer President, Cindy Barlow Cone said, “Having additional time to prepare allows us to maximize its impact across the globe.”

The main and glaring reason as to why they decided to withdraw from the tournament was advertising money. Two major events are happening in the United States in 2026 and 2028. The USA is co-hosting the 2026 men’s World Cup with Mexico and Canada. In 2028 the Olympics are being held in Los Angeles. Holding an event between these two massive events would result in the Women’s World Cup to compete for advertising dollars. The US and Mexico also hope to learn from these two events so they can better the experience as a whole. “The strength and universality of our professional women’s leagues, coupled with our experience from organizing the 2026 World Cup, means that we will be able to provide the best infrastructure as well as an enthusiastic fan base that will make all the participating teams feel at home and to put together a World Cup that will contribute to the continued growth of women’s football.” said Mexican Soccer President Ivar Sisnieg

Less is More

The NBA playoffs are underway and this year’s playoffs are proving that spending more doesn’t equate to winning. The Warriors will pay the most luxury tax this season, owing an estimated $176.88 million on top of a league-high $209 million payroll. But even with all that spending, Golden State was knocked out of the NBA play-in tournament by the Kings. Coming in second in payroll ($202 million) and luxury tax ($142.4 million) were the Clippers, who are tied 2–2 with the Mavericks in their opening-round series. The Bucks, coming in fourth with a luxury tax bill of $51.96 million, will look to avoid elimination Tuesday night against the Pacers. Neither Dallas nor Indiana is paying a luxury tax.

Of the top 10 teams in payroll, only the Denver Nuggets have made it to the next round of the playoffs. They completed the first round win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night. The sentiment of spending more will mean you will win more, is proving not to be true this year. Golden State is the prime example of this as well, they have three players on a max contract and two of which are past their primes. It is proving beneficial to have less players with big contracts and use the your money on strong depth and role player pieces.

Quick Reads

• Hollywood stars and Wrexham owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have acquired a minority stake in Mexican soccer club, Club Necaxa.

• European league games in the U.S. are closer to becoming a reality as FIFA is working to allow clubs to play domestic matches abroad.

• Jason Kelce is joining ESPN as part of 'Monday Night Countdown'

• Detroit has broken the NFL Draft's all-time attendance record with more than 700,000 fans

• MLB is launching 'Ballpark Bites'—a ballpark-inspired menu for food delivery apps in nearly 400 locations.

• 2-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker announces her retirement

Job Openings in Sports

• Manager, Mascot Operations: Mr. & Mrs. Met - New York Mets (New York, NY)

• Sports Marketing Coordinator - Babolat (Louisville, CO)

• Coordinator, Video/Women’s Basketball - University of Rhode Island (Kingston, RI)

• Grassroots Operations Associate - Premier League Lacrosse (Open to Remote)

• Summer Intern - Philadelphia Wings (Philadelphia, PA)

Games of the Week

• UFC 301 - Saturday

• Miami Grand Prix - (Friday-Sunday)

• Borussia Dortmund vs Paris Saint Germain - Wednesday @ 3 PM EST

• Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Clippers - Wednesday @ 10 PM EST

• Indiana Fever vs Dallas Wings - Friday @ 8 PM EST

Feel free to reply to any of our emails and tell us what you like AND don’t like about these so we can continue to improve!