October 20, 2023

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The PGA Tour’s framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has brought months of uncertainty for professional golf. Now, there are questions about the viability of sealing a formal deal by the self-imposed Dec. 31 deadline. A.J. Perez has more [[link removed]] on the latest developments.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

LIV Golf Touting Expansion, Team Sales Ahead Of Season Finale [[link removed]]

Chris Trotman/LIV Golf

LIV Golf’s team championship event is underway in Miami, and players and executives are optimistic about the league’s future.

Ahead of the season-ending tournament at Trump National Doral Golf Club, Bubba Watson said he had received interest from as many as 20 people about buying his team, the RangeGoats. “There was [sic] three in Singapore, and then after Singapore the floodgates opened,” he said [[link removed]]. “There was even more. There’s been talk this week. I met with people this week. There’s quite a few.”

Team captains like Watson, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Brooks Koepka own their franchises and have the ability to sell equity in them.

Outside of potential team sales, expansion beyond the current 12 four-player franchises could be on the horizon. “We can accommodate up to 15 teams with the shotgun start,” LIV Golf chief operating officer Gary Davidson said [[link removed]]. “I don’t think that we’ll get to 15 teams next year, but yeah, there’s a possibility that we may add a team or two.”

Playing The Field

Looking ahead, Mickelson made some ominous comments [[link removed]] about more PGA Tour players joining LIV next year. “I’ve been fielding calls, as we all have, from players that are agents to PGA Tour players,” he said.

And amid an uncertain future as LIV’s backers at Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund negotiate with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour about unifying the pro golf landscape, LIV CEO Greg Norman isn’t concerned about the prospects for his league, which he says [[link removed]] has “never been stronger.”

EXCLUSIVE

PGA Tour’s Partnership With Saudi PIF Is Uncertain

Multiple sources tell Front Office Sports that the PGA Tour is closer to a deal with Endeavor and other firms than finalizing a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — and there is so little progress that extending the Dec. 31 deadline would likely be pointless.

Read more of this exclusive [[link removed]] from senior reporter A.J. Perez.

Iguodala To Run $200M Fund After Retiring From NBA [[link removed]]

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Four-time NBA champion Andre Iguodala is retiring from professional basketball, but will immediately launch his next career in venture capital.

After playing 19 seasons and winning the 2015 NBA Finals MVP award, the 39-year-old will run [[link removed]] a $200 million venture capital fund with longtime business partner Rudy Cline-Thomas.

Cline-Thomas, a minority owner and vice chairman of English soccer club Leeds United, is the founder of alternative asset manager MASTRY, which is rebranding as Mosaic General Partnership. The fund’s new website lists Iguodala and Cline-Thomas as two of five co-founders and managing partners.

Mosaic’s public portfolio includes NFL agency Athletes First, athlete wellness app Players Health, and live sports operating system Jump. The firm will now focus on seed- and early-stage investments in sports companies, enterprise software, and fintech health care.

Iguodala also just added [[link removed]] a minority ownership stake in the San Francisco TGL team to his portfolio, which also includes investments in Leeds United and Bay FC [[link removed]], the expansion NWSL club set to launch in 2024.

Follow The Money

Iguodala’s move follows a recent trend of current and former professional athletes becoming more active investors. Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were just part of a group that bought [[link removed]] into the Alpine Formula 1 team.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs has created [[link removed]] a new division called Sports Franchise in Investment Banking that will offer their clients the ability to buy into pro teams.

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Tiger’s TGL Continues Momentum With Fanatics, Expansion [[link removed]]

Syndication: Palm Beach Post

Three months ahead of its January launch, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s virtual golf league TGL is already starting to look like a top-tier American sports property.

This week, TGL announced the ownership group [[link removed]] for its fifth of six planned franchises. Former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry is partnering with Stephen Curry to head up the team, TGL San Francisco, with additional investment from fellow Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson.

Meanwhile, Fanatics has been brought on to run TGL’s league and team e-commerce operations, putting the golf league on par with other top American competitions working with the $31 billion mega-company.

ESPN will serve as TGL’s media rights partner, giving the league a mainstream broadcast outlet.

The other ownership groups [[link removed]] for TGL include Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Boston Red Sox parent company Fenway Sports Group, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, and Serena Williams and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Other minority team owners include Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, USWNT star Alex Morgan, and golf star Michelle Wie West.

Professional golfers committed to play in TGL’s first season include seven of the current top 10 players in the world, along with Woods, McIlroy, and other stars like Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, and Rickie Fowler. One more team ownership group will be announced in the coming weeks.

Conversation Starters The new DraftKings Sportsbook has opened at TPC Scottsdale — a first at any PGA Tour location. Take a tour [[link removed]]. Through the second half of the MLB season, the Texas Rangers have been playing [[link removed]] music by the band Creed in their ballpark. Since then, Creed has become the unofficial band of the team — with Spotify streams up 175% from last month. And speaking of the Rangers: Here’s what their games look like [[link removed]] at the multi-level bar next to their ballpark.

BEST EMPLOYERS IN SPORTS

Last Chance to Take the Survey

Whether it’s great leadership, focus on diversity, equity and inclusion or commitment to employee wellbeing, the Front Office Sports Best Employers in Sports Award [[link removed]]recognizes organizations who do right by their employees.

How do we determine who wins the award? We don’t — employees do! The award is based entirely on anonymous survey results from sports industry professionals.

Responses will be evaluated in collaboration with our primary research partner, Canvs [[link removed]], using patented AI technology free from all subjectivity and human bias. There is no word count limit and you can even use slang, text abbreviations, sarcasm, or emojis to complete the survey.

Today is the last day to take the 2023 employee survey! Take the survey [[link removed]] by 11:59 p.m. ET for a chance to recognize your company as one of the best in the business.

Editor's Picks FaZe Clan, Once Valued at $725M, Sold at $16M Valuation to Jerry Jones-Backed GameSquare [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]The deal, closing in Q4 2023, is being characterized as a merger. Las Vegas Aces Clincher Produces Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 4 [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]The 889,000 average viewers represented the 2023 Finals' most-watched game. The Spread of Sports Misinformation on X Is Increasingly Apparent [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]Some aggregator X accounts have come under increased scrutiny. Join the NBA Action

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