The financial landscape of professional golf has been dramatically reshaped in the past two years, largely due to the emergence of LIV Golf as a formidable competitor to the PGA Tour. Key financial details from the PGA Tour’s 2022 IRS filings, obtained by Sportico, reveal significant increases in Commissioner Jay Monahan’s compensation and in the Tour’s legal fees and overall financial activities.
In 2022, Monahan’s compensation saw a substantial rise to $18.6 million from the previous year’s $13.9 million. This figure encompasses a base salary of $1.8 million, bonuses and incentives totaling $9.2 million, and an estimated $7.4 million in non-cash benefits slated for his retirement.
According to a report by MSN, the PGA Tour’s revenue also experienced an uptick, reaching $1.9 billion in 2022, up from $1.59 billion in 2021. This increase is partly attributed to new television deals. Concurrently, expenses escalated to $1.87 billion, compared to $1.55 billion the previous year. Additionally, the Tour incurred over $5 million in severance payments to three former executives.
Notably, the legal fees for the Tour skyrocketed from $2 million in 2021 to over $20 million in 2022. This dramatic increase is linked to the ongoing legal confrontations with LIV Golf and the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which began in August 2022, and expenses related to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. The $20.7 million in legal fees surpassed the combined total of the last 14 years.
As the PGA Tour continues its legal entanglements with LIV Golf, the financial implications for 2023, especially concerning legal expenses, will be a point of interest and comparison to the 2022 figures.