PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan’s compensation reportedly rose by $4.7 million to $18.6m in 2022, while PGA Tour Inc.'s legal fees increased by more than 10-fold from $2m in 2021 to $20.7 million a year later.
The information, which has been obtained by Sportico via the Tour’s tax 2022 return, breaks down Monahan’s compensation, which includes a $1.8m base salary, bonuses and incentives of $9.2m, and an actuarial estimate of $7.4m million for non-cash benefits to be paid following his retirement.
Perhaps even more starkly, it lays bare the huge costs associated with the PGA Tour's legal battle with LIV Golf, particularly when taking into account that the circuit, which is bankrolled by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), only launched part-way through 2022.
That means only five months of the PGA Tour’s costs associated with its legal battle with the PIF were included in the IRS filings and all before the 6 June 2023 merger deal between the PGA Tour and the PIF, whose governor is Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
In 2022, 11 LIV Golf players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour following their suspensions from it after they opted to join the new circuit. In response, the Tour countersued.
Initially, a trial date for the antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour was set for 8 January 2024. However, the agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF led to a “mutually agreed end to all litigation between the participating parties.”
Despite that deadline having been averted, there is another coming sooner - namely the one set for 31 December for the PGA Tour to thrash out an agreement with the PIF for the two to coexist.
With that deadline nearing, the PGA Tour has confirmed talks with the Strategic Sports Group, while negotiations with the PIF continue. Earlier in the week, it was also revealed that 20 PGA Tour players, including 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett, have written to the PGA Tour "demanding" full disclosure of the PGA Tour’s negotiations.
Given the huge sum involved in the PGA Tour’s legal battle, the threat of a resumption of hostilities is highly likely to be something it would prefer to avoid.
According to the Sportico report, the PGA Tour's legal fees also include “costs related to the Department of Justice’s review of the agreement." It also states that the PGA Tour’s revenue increased to $1.9bn in 2022, up from $1.59bn the year before. However, its costs increased by $320m to $1.87bn.
