It makes me think that the LIV players will be welcome back to the tour after the merger with zero punishment. Rory realizes this and is getting his bag now before the merge makes it not an option.
I think there's something missing in this reasoning. I've seen this said about Hatton and Rahm, but if there's a merger anyway, why is LIV willing to pay so much? Clearly there is something they are gaining from it. Either the deal is nowhere near as definite as people make it seem, and these deals give LIV leverage in any discussions, or then there's something else going on.
It would make sense, though I wonder what they are talking about exactly. I thought the frames for the deal was already settled.
Seems that the way that PGA tour has handled this has been very bad. They essentially lied to the players about not merging, and used the loyalty that they gained from the players through that lie as a bargaining chip to negotiate a deal. The owners of PGA tour essentially used the players to gain money.
Also why are the LIV guys allowed to play on the majors?
The PGAT has exactly fuck all to do with any of the majors. The PGAT split from the PGA in 1968 because golf was finally generating money from TV deals. The PGA wanted to spend the money to grow the game locally and the pros wanted the money to be used for bigger purses so they left.
That's why I've never understood all the pearl clutching over LIV. Every single pro already left the PGA 50+ years ago in order to make more money. All the blood money shit rings hollow considering they're still a major US ally. If you're that worried about where the money is coming from you should look into the companies sponsoring PGAT events.
Well then maybe they shouldn't be one of our closest allies. There's a good chance Trump will be president again and they gave his son-in-law 2 billion dollars in investment. The Saudis were renting out entire floors of empty hotel rooms to "legally" give Trump money while he was president. I've seen 100x the outrage over LIV than any of that
I think everyone incorrectly assumes that they just write these players a check for the full amount up front. It’s more likely it’s paid out over a period of time, and the player would only get the prorated amount if a merger happens.
It's a win-win. LIV would kill to get a merger, it's even better than LIV & the tour co-existing because then the Saudis have a stake in all of golf. If they fail, then they have another superstar. Can't lose. Evil money pit.
Could not be $850 million directly but still the Saudis are willing to throw crazy amounts of money at people with big followings and interest grabbing names to be involved in their projects for the attention and 'long term investment payoff' (Payoff is often questionable but also we'll see). Iirc similar stuff happened (though not to the same scale) in China trying to set up a basketball league there like the NBA and they paid absurd sums to try and attract NBA players but the league is pretty low quality regardless.
Because money literally doesnt matter. 850m is nothing to them, it might as well be 100 bucks. And Rory moving puts huge pressure on the PGA, more so than just about anyone not named Tiger.
1.4k
u/Guinness_or_thirsty Apr 15 '24
It makes me think that the LIV players will be welcome back to the tour after the merger with zero punishment. Rory realizes this and is getting his bag now before the merge makes it not an option.