LIV Golf Now Closed?

[mcanadiens]

4 hours ago, GolfLug said:

This is money well spent. From my perspective, when an individual of Rahm's image thinks it is fine to collude with the Saudis, it is hard to overstate the severity of the blow to our collective psyche. 

It doesn't matter how lame the actual golf is. They continue being in the news. They continue winning players we deem to have conscience. This is how normalizing of what was once unacceptable works IMHO.

Is it really though?

Surely it sucks for pro golf fans to watch these guys sign with LIV, but if spending all this money is purely sportswashing, is it really producing results?  Rahm takes his money and plays on the has-been team circuit. May as well of retired and taken up shuffleboard. It's big news in the golf world, but did anyone else even notice? 

I guess it is hard to quantify whether people's attitudes toward Saudi Arabia have actually softened. I'm not really seeing it here. 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2023 by mcanadiens

[mdl]

5 hours ago, jsgolfer said:

I'm not sure I'd even watch an LIV event if it had the top 48 players in the world rankings every couple of weeks. Watching the same guys, play for buckets of cash, in a goofy golf format, that has no cut, is just not that interesting.

I agree the current format isn't great. But if it weren't so poisoned by being like the Leni Riefenstahl content for the rulers of Saudi with their medieval values, I could totally get into the team aspect of it. Like, imagine a new PGA with teams where, say, half the tournaments each year are team only – as in no individual prizes – with 4 rounds and cuts and varying formats: total team score, best ball team score, team match play brackets, alternate shot, hell even a scramble or shamble! And then the other half of the tournaments are of the traditional, current PGAT format. That would be super fun!

[jxdama]

MSN

"Wells Fargo, which has sponsored the PGA Tour’s annual event in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2011, will discontinue its partnership with the tour after the 2024 season, according to Erik Spanberg of the Charlotte Business Journal.

The Financial Services company wanted to stay on as a sponsor beyond 2024, but did not want to commit to the rising financial costs that the PGA Tour demanded, per Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal.

That, of course, is a direct result of LIV Golf, and the endless sum of money that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has in its vaults.

The PIF has over $700 billion in assets, whereas the PGA Tour is a $1 billion not-for-profit."

 

 

The  best  course  of action for the  PGA now  is to make a  deal with LIV and  move  on.

[guitarget]

Erik, please consider adding a "Wow" icon to reactions to posts.  Sometimes that's all I can come up with, is "wow."

[Missouri Swede]

[Bob M]

I have to admit to never having been a big fan of Rahm's and I wasn't really sure why.....until now.

[Vinsk]

2 hours ago, jxdama said:

That, of course, is a direct result of LIV Golf, and the endless sum of money that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has in its vaults

I did read an article stating this is actually over assumed. It mentioned how many previous investments in the billions have come up short. That ‘Utopia’ deal, IIRC, was one that was mentioned. Apparently the PIF has been quite liberal in pouring out large sums of money to where SA was starting to tighten the reins a bit on this outpouring.

[turtleback]

9 hours ago, iacas said:

Okay, so the $600M (or $567 or $500 or whatever) is more than Lebron will make, but not the $300M.

It is eventually. It's an investment fund.

How does a guy have $57 million in career earnings, plus endorsements, and only have an estimated net worth of $25 million?

[chspeed]

10 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

but I'd be a bit upset if I were a citizen of Saudi Arabia

Their public face is a joke. PIF is basically a private fund for the royal family and its friends. Citizens of SA have no say nor the freedom to complain about its investments.

 

9 hours ago, iacas said:

It is eventually. It's an investment fund.

Right. And I wouldn't be surprised if ten years down the road, it will end up being a very good investment. Say what you want about PIF (I do 😉 ), they're not dumb.

 

9 hours ago, Vinsk said:

LIV will do to golf what Elon has done for Twitter.

Hope not! Golf is stronger than Twitter. 💪

7 hours ago, GolfLug said:

This is money well spent.

Agreed. Especially if you buy the argument that they did this for negotiation leverage. One of the strategies discussed in this good Athletic article:

Miller: Jon Rahm is going to LIV. Golf will be different now

---

Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion, will reportedly receive more than a half-billion dollars to leave the PGA Tour.

 

[iacas]

29 minutes ago, turtleback said:

How does a guy have $57 million in career earnings, plus endorsements, and only have an estimated net worth of $25 million?

I'm not sure what you're talking about. Is Jon Rahm's net worth supposedly only $25M?

[mdl]

1 hour ago, turtleback said:

How does a guy have $57 million in career earnings, plus endorsements, and only have an estimated net worth of $25 million?

You know we have the large societies we do through government which is funded through taxes, so earnings doesn't equal money in the bank? 😉

[Zeph]

When comparing money across decades, keep inflation in mind. $100 in 2003 is worth $165 in 2023 according to this. There's also more money in sports in general today than before. The LIV players are still ridiculously overpaid with money coming from oil.

[ChetlovesMer]

11 hours ago, turtleback said:

How does a guy have $57 million in career earnings, plus endorsements, and only have an estimated net worth of $25 million?

I'm not sure who we are referring to here. But that doesn't at all seem out of line. 

Today in America it's pretty common to have to pay out about half of your gross income in taxes. This is when you include Federal, State and City Taxes. Plus sales tax, capital gains tax, marriage penalty tax, luxury tax and property tax. Many Americans pay more than half their income in taxes if they live in a high tax city or state. Or if their income is especially high. Where my wife and I live, for example, our Property Tax Payment is getting close to about twice our Mortgage Payment, and that's not really uncommon. 

The idea is to offset at least some of these taxes by investing a chunk of what you earn. If this guy you are referring to, made a couple of not great investments, he may not have much that offset these taxes. He may also have purchased something like a multi-million-dollar home which has, for what ever reason, gone down in value. Or perhaps he is in the process of starting up a business venture that hasn't taken off yet. 

Here's another way to think about it. Estimate how much money you've earned in your career. Then take a look at your net-worth. This guy's net worth is about 44% of his earnings. I can tell you our household's net worth is not near 44% of our lifetime earnings. Plus, this guy may have had to pay a percentage to a caddie, and/or an agent right off the top. 

 

[GolfLug]

Retaining 40%+ of pre-tax earnings in net worth over ones lifetime is damn good.

[StuM]

1 hour ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Where my wife and I live, for example, our Property Tax Payment is getting close to about twice our Mortgage Payment, and that's not really uncommon. 

I get what you are saying, but not a good measure. Once your mortgage is paid off your taxes would no longer be twice your mortgage. 

[GolfLug]

18 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

Is it really though?

Yes. It is no secret that their pockets are deep. Deep like, ths might be MBS' lunch money. 

What's scary is that they might be just one Rory conversion away from completely wrecking men's professional golf. 

[turtleback]

15 hours ago, iacas said:

I'm not sure what you're talking about. Is Jon Rahm's net worth supposedly only $25M?

 

That's what came up when I did a Google search on Jon Rahm's net worth.

[Zeph]

1 hour ago, turtleback said:

That's what came up when I did a Google search on Jon Rahm's net worth.

Bunkered.co.uk mention $25m, but they reference Celebrity Net Worth, which suggests $100m.

Bunkered also share some amusing quotes:

Quote

But despite Rahm’s huge financial success, he has also stressed throughout his career that he is more interested than his legacy than the sum in his bank account.

He reiterated that he did not become an elite sportsman for the financial rewards when he was being linked with a move to the new Saudi-backed LIV Golf League in 2022.

“Yeah, money is great, but when (his wife) Kelley and I – this first thing happened, we started talking about it, and we’re like, will our lifestyle change if I got $400 million? No, it will not change one bit,” he said.

“Truth be told, I could retire right now with what I’ve made and live a very happy life and not play golf again. So I’ve never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons. I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world."

“I’ve always been interested in history and legacy, and right now the PGA Tour has that.”

That was $400m though. If he gets up to $600m, maybe it changes things after all.