Mickelson, 10 Other LIV Golf Players Suing PGA Tour

In today’s edition of the Front Office Sports newsletter, we’re taking a look at a group of professional golfers taking a stand against the PGA Tour.

Firing Back

Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and nine other LIV Golf competitors filed an?antitrust lawsuit?against the PGA Tour in federal court Wednesday, alleging their suspensions are part of a “carefully orchestrated plan to defeat” the Saudi-backed upstart tour.

Beyond the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, and Matt Jones requested a?temporary restraining order that — if granted — would allow them to compete in the FedEx Cup Playoffs next weekend in Memphis.?

Pressure applied by the PGA Tour forced LIV Golf?“to cancel its 2022 business plan”?that included a full-fledged league with more golfers, a TV deal, and more events, per the lawsuit.

LIVing Well

While?Tiger Woods?turned down?an offer between $700 million to $800 million to join LIV Golf, several others on the PGA Tour defected — and were paid handsomely.?

• The Tour increased golfer compensation?$135 million?in response to LIV’s launch, per the lawsuit.?
• Tour purses “grew an anemic” 2.5% per year on average from 2014 through 2019, far behind major sports leagues.?
• Brooks Koepka, who now plays for LIV Golf, topped the 2019 PGA Tour money list at $9.68 million and has already made an?estimated?$69 million?this year.?

In a letter to members, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan stated that the lawsuit, first reported by?The Wall Street Journal, was essentially 11 players “trying to use lawyers to?force their way into competition?alongside our members in good standing.”

Editor’s note:?For more on this story,?click here.

Conversation Starters

• On Tuesday, EA Sports struck a deal with La Liga to become the Spanish soccer league’s naming partner, beginning with the 2023-24 season.
• The majority of Fortune 500 CEOs and women in C-suite jobs were college athletes. Former Florida State and Minnesota Vikings quarterback is all-in on helping athletes recognize business opportunities after their playing days are over. Check out the new episode of our My Other Passion podcast on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube to hear Ponder and FOS editor in chief Ernest Baker talk business and behind-the-scenes NFL stories.
• ESPN has signed Linda Cohn to a new, multiyear deal that will see her remain a “SportsCenter” anchor and a contributor to the network’s NHL coverage.
• Big 5 Sporting Goods reported $253.8 million in second-quarter revenue, down from $326 million for the same period the year prior.
• Hear about the day’s most important business of sports stories in five minutes or less by listening to our daily podcast The Leadoff.

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