In the wake of this week’s bombshell sports news, in which several top European football clubs have chosen to form a Superleague, it was broadcast on Golfweek on Tuesday about PGA Tour’s efforts to prevent its star players from breaking away for higher payment days elsewhere. The PGA Tour later confirmed to ESPN that it had created a $ 40 million fund to reward its top stars, while continuing to dispel the Premier League golf rumor.
The proposed PGL lure is that it would guarantee significant money to the world’s top players. In a deeply meritocratic sport, such as golf, in which only 5-10 players actually bring TV ratings and a wide range of fans, there are plenty of attractions to be guaranteed a significant salary if you are among the highest name in the game.
Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy receive $ 0 course earnings each season. In the proposed LPG, this would not be the case. Although the details of the hypothetical league are fragile, the understanding is that, in essence, everyone would be guaranteed a certain level of wealth, regardless of success on the course.
That’s where the PGA Tour Player Impact Program comes into play. According to Golfweek, 10 players will receive funds from a $ 40 million fund. The program, designed to “be designed to compensate players who are believed to boost fan engagement and sponsorship, such as Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau and Rickie Fowler,” began Jan. 1, PGA Tour Golfweek confirmed.
Because the measurements to determine who will receive parts of the $ 40 million are not based solely on the tournament game, it will be difficult to determine the exact formula that the PGA Tour will use. The algorithm used to rank players will likely include popularity in Google Search, Nielsen brand exposure ratings (how often they are on TV during tournaments), Q ratings (how well known they are to the general public), MVP (social media engagement) index ratings and Meltwater Mentions (how often they are covered by the media).
It was initially reported that FedEx Cup points would be included in the formula, but PGA Tour later confirmed to GolfWeek that this would not be the case.
If it sounds like a trick or a joke, it’s not. And, in some respects, this should have been expected. Of course, the PGA Tour would aim to guarantee its top players more money to prevent them from jumping into a new league. There is a logic of movement that makes sense.
However, this could become messy. Will Tiger Woods get a bonus because people googled his name based on a car accident instead of playing golf, even if he doesn’t step on a course for 12 months or ever? In the case of Tiger, he should be paid considering how much money he has brought in sports in the last 20 years, but not the same can be said about everyone.
There are (and will be) many things to relax here, but the PGA Tour clearly sees this as a stabilization of its primary infrastructure in light of both what has happened on the European football front and what could be booked in the next few months with PGL. It’s a $ 40 million game, which could prove to be a great offer for both the PGA Tour and the players who will win this money.