Long post here folks, but the vision is fascinating and as you know from my original post that broke this news, the World Golf Group is not messing around with their effort to start a new Tour. In that post, I promised to delve deeper into their concept over the next week, but a new document released to all media outlets today outlines nearly everything I’ve seen and had planned to cover.
So, besides the third name change since they’ve been envisioning the league, the primary shift in this document is one of tone. Perhaps realizing that to sustain a “league” they must have feeder tours, there appears to be an effort to work with the PGA Tour and European Tour. However, an 18-event schedule stealing top players is still very much a hostile act, one that leaves the U.S. and European tours as feeder operations in the best case scenario.
Anyhow, I hate a long post but there is just so much to chew on in this well-conceived concept, clearly massaged over six years of stealth meetings. So here goes the copy, paste and occasional interruption.
PREMIER GOLF LEAGUE LIMITED (PGL) INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Q: What is the League?
PGL: It’s a new, improved format, devised in consultation with those who fund the sport at the highest professional level – designed, simply, to be the best product golf is capable of producing.
An individual and team league format – only the best, playing against the best each week.
Forty-eight players competing to win the individual world championship. Twelve teams of 4 competing to win the team world championship – in a compelling league format that will generate the strongest possible seasonal narrative.
Each 8-month season will begin in January and be comprised of 18 events; 10 of which will be played in the US, with others airing during US primetime.
Rather than the traditional 4, there will be 3 days of stroke play competition (54 holes) per tournament, with no cut – you don’t send the world’s best players home early.
The first 2 days will have a shotgun start, to fit within a 5-hour broadcast window, so no slow air. And each final day will go to a 2-tee start, to maintain the traditional back-9 climax.
The world champion will be crowned after 17 weeks and the 18th event will be a team play- off, utilizing a seeded, match play format, to decide the league winners – one of sport’s ultimate, annual, spectacles.
The League will generate the most entertaining and enthralling content the sport is capable of producing. The best field guaranteed – the best fan and player experience guaranteed.
Note how they are addressing the silly length a pro golf day takes in a smart way. Shotgun starts the first two days, 54 holes and two-tees the last day.
Q: What makes you think the game needs a new format?
PGL: We care passionately about the game and believe that, to thrive, it has to evolve. We want to ensure that as many people as possible learn to love and play golf. To do that you have to encourage as many people as possible to watch golf. That is our motivation.
If you want the world to watch, you have to showcase your best product, week-in-week-out. Golf doesn’t do that currently.
If you had the chance to start again you wouldn’t create professional golf as it exists today. The League is that chance.
That’s a profound statement about starting from scratch and not using the general structure we have now. I’m not sure I entirely agree, but then again no one would say 72-holes of stroke play, 5:30 rounds and little match play makes sense.
Q: You plan to launch the League in January 2022, will you succeed?
PGL: We were told you can’t take on the establishment and win, but we aren’t taking on the establishment – we intend to work with it – and 6 years on we believe we’ll succeed because the League is what fans, sponsors and broadcasters want – and the best players deserve. It will revitalize the sport for this and future generations.
Fans want to watch the best players competing in the best format. A truly prestigious world championship that is worth winning and worth watching.
They want condensed, world-class action, from start to finish, hence the shotgun-start and 5- hour broadcast window. Action, all over the course, when you switch on – the ability to tune in to the main broadcast, or choose your own shots and style of production, via streaming.
Watch who you want to watch, knowing that the team element means that every shot counts. The ability to get behind a team and closer to the players, with unprecedented access to the most entertaining content. And, of course, for those who attend, the best staging and facilities.
Wish we had a mention of going after architecturally interesting venues too, but you can’t have everything. Yet.
And importantly, we’ll give fans a break from the game, with a 4-month off-season. The chance to miss world-class golf and look forward to its return. They don’t get that opportunity at the moment, owing to the overlapping, wrap-around seasons of existing tours, designed to maximize the playing opportunities for hundreds of professional golfers. It’s confusing and leads to fan fatigue.
Amen.
And the fans are vital to those who fund the sport – the sponsors who pay the purses, buy the ads and pay the endorsement fees. They fund the professional sport to reach the golf demographic – they want the best possible format, capable of drawing the largest possible audience.
Multinational blue-chip brands want to reach golf’s valuable fanbase, but some have walked away, and others have failed to engage, unable to justify the return on investment. These brands want to be associated with the best but, too often, struggle to work out where the best will play.
We believe the League represents a superior model for sponsors – offering category exclusivity, global activation and better value. And for sponsors, read broadcasters – they want what the sponsors want – the best possible ratings.
And note this does confirm that events will also have sponsors.
Q: Will the top players really leave their existing tours to join?
PGL: There are a number of reasons we believe they will – the first being money. The world’s best players will have the opportunity to earn more by competing in the League; both in terms of prize money and endorsements.
So much for everyone working together!
We’ll pay $240m in prize money each season, rising over time. Shared between 48 players, that’s an average of $5m. Forty-eight players will compete for a share of $10m every weekend, 17 times per season. The winner will earn $2m each week and the individual world champion will receive a $10m bonus.
There will also be a $40m team purse, with $14m to the winning team ($3.5m per team member) – and we’ll pay a bonus to the winning team each week.
An individual will have the chance to win over $50m per season – more than on any other format, on a like-for-like basis (including bonuses), with major purses on top.
And here’s thinking elements of appearance fee structure to get agent buy-in and superstars to move to the concept.
Q: Isn’t that too much?
PGL: It’s what they’re worth. At the moment, the best – the true global stars – subsidise the rest. The League will rebalance the economics. The best player needs to compete, but not against 150 other guys every week – 47 will suffice.
Their off-course earnings should also rise. League players will have a higher, global profile; 48 stars, with higher endorsement values. A global format, comprised of only the best, will maximize the appeal of each player to major brands.
Our players should also benefit from the sponsorship premium to be generated by the collective team model. We will enable players and teams to offer sponsors greater value by, for example, providing money-can’t-buy access on and off the course. They will also be able to stream their own content – to maximize the value of their personalities, on and off the course.
Plus, selected players will have an opportunity to generate unprecedented value beyond their playing careers. We’ll give them part ownership of a team franchise and the chance to share in the significant equity value, created jointly, over time. The teams will generate revenue streams established in other sports but not previously achievable in golf. They will also enable players to remain relevant to the game beyond their competitive best – providing them with the opportunity to win the League as an owner and operator, secure investment, and both retain existing and attract new sponsors.
There will also be lifestyle benefits – for players.
Eh em…wraparound no more.
Q: What do you mean by “lifestyle”?
PGL: Our players will only be required to play 18 events per season and will get 4 months off – without the pressure of knowing that others are accumulating points while they recharge.
They’ll play 3 days not 4 – putting less strain on their bodies – and will be part of a team, with team benefits. They will, of course, be required to travel, but on a sensible schedule; and we’ll place them in situ before each of the majors.
The quality of the competition and the format should also appeal. The League will provide the best players with the opportunity to play the best, week-in-week-out, on different types of courses and in different climatic conditions. It will be the ultimate test, worthy of a true world champion.
You’ve got to play the best to be the best, and a 5-hour window, delivered by a shotgun start, will mean a level playing field; no more being at the wrong end of the draw when the weather turns.
Fans intuitively understand leagues; win the League to become the indisputable, world champion.
And then there’s the good of the game – possibly the best reason to join.
Ok, let’s not get carried away.
Q: What do you mean by “good of the game”?
PGL: We’re a commercial enterprise, but our interests are entirely aligned with those of the sport. In other words, our value will be determined by our ability to get people to watch golf. And the more that watch – the more that will play.
The rest of the professional sport – men’s and women’s – is also very important to us, so we plan to contribute $45m a year to other professional formats – for example, the charities that operate existing events – to support their purses.
And our foundation, which will own 20% of the League, should generate approximately $300m in dividends and a lump sum of $2bn by 2028. Part of this will go back into the amateur game and the rest will support charitable causes – in perpetuity. We’ve liaised and intend to work closely with the guardians of the game – the foundation should provide that opportunity. No one who cares about the future of the game should object to the League.
And for some players, this is the chance to create a lasting legacy. We believe the structure of the sport needs to be streamlined and strengthened. As proposed, the League will form the top of the pyramid, providing greater structural integrity and strength to the whole sport; supporting its other professional and amateur limbs.
This is also an opportunity for some players to make history, just like those who broke away from the PGA of America – to form the PGA Tour – in the late Sixties. They faced resistance and the restructuring wasn’t straightforward, but it strengthened the sport – and, 50 years on, it’s this generation’s turn – the same principles apply.
The League represents the most natural, next evolutionary step for professional golf and there are plenty of other sporting precedents – 22 clubs walked away from the Football League to create the EPL and English football got stronger. The sponsor-driven Car Park Agreement secured the commitment of the world’s best tennis players, guaranteeing the strength of field – week-in-week-out – to create the ATP 1000 Series and increase the appeal of tennis to fans and sponsors. In cricket, Kerry Packer broke the mould by establishing World Series Cricket. He took on the game’s administrators and revitalised the sport.
And, via the first Concorde Agreement, Bernie Ecclestone wrestled control away from the FIA and dramatically improved the F1 model for fans, sponsors, teams and drivers. He guaranteed the strength of field and the highest standards of event staging and broadcast – converting a past-time for enthusiasts into a global showcase, drawing 500m viewers per year.
Golf is structured today as motorsport was structured before the Concorde Agreement.
Q: Have you spoken to the players? Are they supportive?
PGL: Apologies, we aren’t in a position to discuss any players.
Q: So, no players have committed?
PGL: Unfortunately, we cannot discuss at this stage.
All signs in my reporting and the work of those acknowledging the story suggest players are actively listening. Not one has gone on the record yet declining the possibility of joining “The League”.
Q: What can you tell us about Premier Golf League Limited?
PGL It’s a new company, established by World Golf Group to own and operate the League. The group’s existing shareholder base has assets worth over $20bn and includes The Raine Group – one of the leading sports, media and entertainment investors in the world. We estimate that it won’t cost more than $1bn to launch the League.
The group has spent 6 years listening and learning; establishing relationships with key stakeholders and refining both the format and the business model – we’re now ready to offer fans, players, sponsors and broadcasters a choice.
And their timing is noteworthy given the unsettled state of TV negotiations.
But there’s more!
APPENDIX A – ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
Q: The PGA Tour generates huge sums for charity. Will you deprive charities of income?
PGL: No. The PGA Tour has had, and should continue to have, a tremendous charitable impact. As you know, most of its events are owned and operated by charitable entities, many of which generate healthy profits that flow through to deserving causes.
…should continue to have? Even without stars?
We’ll have just as positive an impact on society but will take a slightly different approach. For a start, we’ll pay tax – we believe government is better placed than us to distribute a portion of our profits, fairly, to the communities that need it.
We’ve also created a foundation that should generate approximately $300m in dividends and a lump sum of $2bn by 2028. Part of this will go back into the game, the rest will support charitable causes – in perpetuity.
Suffice to say, we’ll seek to support the PGA Tour’s commendable charitable endeavours. Indeed, we’re keen to work with them to understand exactly how much money reaches which beneficiaries and to ensure that those in need continue to benefit.
Good luck with that.
Q: What will happen to the PGA Tour if you succeed?
PGL: Golf’s entire ecosystem is important to us. We want every level of the game to be as healthy and robust as possible. Accordingly, we’ll protect the members of other tours by cooperating and providing financial support.
Interesting that they are addressing the PGA Tour, which becomes a feeder tour in this scenario, but not the European Tour.
Q: What if those who control the official world rankings refuse to grant league players world ranking points?
PGL: We expect any player who participates in the League to continue to earn ranking points. A system that refused to recognize the best players in the world would cease to have legitimacy. And a system influenced by existing leading tours, that refused to grant eligible tour status to a competitive new format might be deemed anti-competitive.
Yes it would.
Q: Will players who join the League lose their PGA Tour pensions?
PGL: We don’t believe so. Even if the PGA Tour refuses to cooperate, our understanding is that the pension is structured as a deferred salary scheme – so the benefits have already been earned and belong to the relevant players.
Q: Is this not just a corporate takeover of golf?
PGL: We aren’t taking over. Our primary objective is to get as many people as possible to watch and play the game, so our interests are aligned entirely with the long-term interests of the sport. First and foremost, we are ordinary fans of the game, keen to ensure the health of the sport we love, for decades to come.
Q: Didn’t Greg Norman attempt something similar and fail?
PGL: According to reports from the time, the attempt to establish the World Golf Tour in 1994 resulted in a threat to ban its participants and the creation of 4 World Golf Championships – all in the US. The world is now a different place, restraint of trade laws have changed, and the League is a very different proposition.
Yes it is.
