The cultural clout of the soon-to-launch virtual golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy continues to grow.

TGL, which was first announced last August, has built an impressive and still-growing list of stakeholders, players, team owners, and other business partners. 

Last week, reports emerged that ESPN was close to sealing a media rights deal with TGL, which will begin play on Monday nights in January. A partnership with ESPN would expose the league to more general sports fans, as opposed to a more niche audience from a network like Golf Channel.

Matches will be played in South Florida on the campus of Palm Beach State College at a new 2,000-seat venue, which was just christened the SoFi Center as part of a wide-ranging deal with TGL parent company TMRW Sports.

Best known in sports for its affiliation with the $5 billion SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the digital finance company brings crucial backing for TGL, although the deal terms are unknown.

Big Names Backing TGL

Three months ahead of its debut, TGL has announced four of its six founding team ownership groups. They include Steve Cohen, Arthur Blank, Serena Williams, and Fenway Sports Group.

Beyond the majority owners, TGL teams have attracted a slew of well-known minority investors including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michelle Wie West, and Alex Morgan. TMRW Sports has an even larger list of athlete and celebrity investors across the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, Formula 1, tennis, and more.

Disgruntled Manchester United fans hoping the Glazer family would eventually sell the Premier League club have been dealt another discouraging blow.

One of the two remaining bidders still interested in purchasing Manchester United is now reportedly shifting gears and looking for a minority stake in the team instead.

Jim Ratcliffe, the British billionaire who had bid upward of $6 billion for Manchester United, could now be seeking a 25% stake in the storied club, according to Sky News. That minority stake could still be valued at $1.5 billion or higher.

The news follows recent reports that Ratcliffe had been working on retooling his bid for Manchester United to appease other minority shareholders who would remain on board if the Glazers sold.

However, there could still be hope for unhappy Manchester United supporters: Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani isn’t interested in a minority stake and still wants to acquire 100% of the club, per Sky.

Writing On The Wall

Recent business deals surrounding Manchester United have seemed to suggest that the Glazers are operating as normal — and potentially no longer considering giving up control of the team. 

This year, Manchester United signed a record kit deal with Adidas ($115 million annually) and a record shirt sponsorship with Snapdragon ($75 million annually).

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has easily held his status as the wealthiest owner in U.S. pro sports, topping Forbes’ rankings for a ninth consecutive year. 

But some of the newest team owners are finding cracking that list difficult — even as it now requires more wealth than ever to buy a team.

Ballmer’s estimated net worth of $101 billion — built heavily through Microsoft stock and his prior status as that company’s CEO — represents a 21.7% jump from a year ago, handily beating the second-ranked owner on the list, Denver Broncos owner Rob Walton, and his $67.4 billion. 

Still chasing their first title and historically existing in the long shadow of the neighboring Los Angeles Lakers, the Ballmer-led Clippers are set to begin a bold new era next year with the planned opening of the $2 billion Intuit Dome.

Earlier this year, Josh Harris led a $6.05 billion purchase of the Washington Commanders that set a new record for the largest-ever sale of a pro sports team, while Mat Ishbia’s $4 billion acquisition of the Phoenix Suns set a new league record. But neither Harris nor Ishbia could breach the top 20 of wealthiest sports team owners. Their respective net worths — $6.9 billion and $6.7 billion — fall below the 20th-ranked $7.2 billion of Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti.

Also lining up behind Ballmer and Walton were the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Dan Gilbert (third, $21.3 billion), the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC’s David Tepper (fourth, $20.6 billion), and the New York Mets’ Steve Cohen (fifth, $19.8 billion). 

Though the Forbes rankings have been fairly static in recent years, more change is likely as franchise values continue to escalate, leading an increasing number of leagues to allow new ownership models.