Takeaways from SSG's investment in the PGA Tour; Paris tempers Opening Ceremony expectations and WTA seeks long-term home for Finals
We have breaking news as I came into the office this morning. A shocker in Formula One as Lewis Hamilton reportedly will leave Mercedes and join Ferrari for the 2025 season. That would certainly change fortunes and fandoms in F1. More on that story certainly to come. My quote of the day, Tom Brady Sr. on Bill Belichick to the Boston Globe. "Bill is tough. He runs a military system. It's a different generation. Bill is a great, great, great coach, but his interpersonal skills are horrible. That's the bottom line." So there you go, Tom Brady Sr. on Bill Belichick. I will be in Cleveland tonight and tomorrow morning for the Mount Union College Sports Sales Workshop where I'm speaking to a sold out group, 18th consecutive year. It features 120 students representing 23 schools from eight states and I'm certainly looking forward to meeting many of those students.
And this is your Morning Buzzcast for Thursday, February 1st. I'm Abe Madkour. Everybody yesterday was talking about the PGA Tour's deal with The Strategic Sports Group, an investment estimated to be worth $3 billion and it will value the entire PGA Tour at $12 billion. Now, this was just a deal with The Strategic Sports Group and a deal with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has not happened, but sources I spoke to yesterday are still hopeful and confident that a deal will get done. Here's an important part of yesterday's deal with The Strategic Sports Group. It certainly increases the influence of John Henry in the sports world. Henry was very key to getting this deal done. And look what he has invested in, the Red Sox, Liverpool, Fenway Park, the Penguins, RFK Racing, and now a huge investment in professional golf to go along with his investment in TMRW Sports. So John Henry is certainly emerging as an increasingly big power player in sports.
So what does this new investment mean for golf? You have this new PGA Tour Enterprises that will oversee all the commercial rights of the tour. They will have a major pool of capital and certainly that will mean equity for players. As part of the $3 billion investment, a substantial amount of funds will go towards a new program allowing players to receive grants based on how well they play. So remember, a lot of this was driven because players wanted more revenue. What else do we know? Well, Jay Monahan will oversee PGA Tour Enterprises, but what that means for the PGA Tour and other roles is unclear. What's also unclear to me and to others is what else will be the mission of PGA Tour Enterprises? I'm sure it will be around elevated events. Are we talking global events, a global calendar? Are we talking about other formats of events?
So we will see, but we have a very big deal and a very big day for the world of golf. Staying with golf. This comes as Rory McIlroy continues to change his tune. He's much less a hawk against LIV Golf than he used to be. He was quoted as saying, "The golf world should unite and that players who left the PGA Tour for LIV should be allowed to return without penalty." He said, "Players shouldn't be punished." He admits he's changed his stance because he sees both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf being diminished in the public's eye. So that's very interesting. He also admitted that the approach of the PGA tour players to make changes to the tour, which they advocated for, was the wrong move and the wrong approach. Now, that was a very interesting admission and it shouldn't be overlooked because Rory McIlroy has a big voice in the game of golf. Yes, he has friends and he certainly has his detractors, but with him changing his tune, easing his tone, that will certainly help bridge the delta between players on the PGA Tour and on the LIV Golf Tour.
We have talked about the Paris Olympic opening ceremony for months on the Buzzcast, a huge event drawing hundreds of thousands along the Seine River that would promise to be spectacular. Well, I have heard for a while there were so many logistical challenges to that opening ceremony, that it had many people concerned. And perhaps because of those concerns, expectations are now being tempered a bit. French leaders have lowered attendance figures for the opening ceremony saying that around 300,000 spectators will be able to attend. That is about half the size of what was originally planned. Now, French leaders didn't elaborate as to why they made the changes, but again, sources have told me there were serious security concerns about the initial plans. So the Olympic ceremony will still be focused around a party along the Seine, but with just fewer spectators.
Expect to see LeBron James touting DraftKings as he signed a deal with the sports betting company and he'll provide picks on the NFL, college football and other big sporting events, besides, of course, basketball. I find this to be a pretty interesting deal. Should be fun. And as an active player in the NBA, LeBron James cannot provide picks or insight on any NBA action, but he can wager on other sports. And reports expect this deal and this relationship to really ramp up around next year's football season as DraftKings will promote LeBron making weekly NFL picks. Apparently it's similar to what he does on Instagram. He did it over the last season. But I like this deal for the star power and the uniqueness of seeing a player of James' stature in a sports betting prediction, even analysis role. So look for LeBron James doing more with DraftKings.
Staying with the NBA, and we've talked about this. The league has officially expanded this season's draft into a two night event in New York City. They'll split the first and second rounds on successive nights. Wednesday, June 26th, the first night. That'll be at the Barclays Center. Thursday, June 27th, the second night, will go to ESPN Seaport District in Lower Manhattan. So an interesting concept. The NBA, of course, is giving more programming to its media rights partner. And remember, they're in a big negotiations for a future deal. And so providing more primetime inventory, being able to package that in the next deal is critical for the NBA. So I'm sure that's one reason that the NBA Draft will split into two nights this June.
And finally, looking ahead, some interesting news out of my home city as the WTA is reportedly eyeing Charlotte as a possible home for the WTA Finals starting in 2027, playing at the Spectrum Center. Remember, the WTA still has not selected a site for this year's upcoming Finals. There's been controversy about possibly staging the event in Saudi Arabia. Wherever the championship goes, it will likely be on a three-year deal, so '24, '25, '26, and that would allow Charlotte to pitch for the 2027 event. And improvements, major renovations at the Spectrum Center would be done by that time.
Now, Charlotte is not the global destination city that the WTA, maybe some players, maybe some global sponsors would like as a season ending Finals location. But I will tout my home. It's central to get to, with a major airport, a very walkable, compact center city, mild temperatures and a city with a can-do, get it done attitude. And it's a very strong tennis region. So Charlotte would be a very good host if the WTA Finals decides to come here. But we'll see how the WTA lands on future sites for its marquee season ending event.
And so that is your Morning Buzzcast for Thursday, February 1st. I'm Abe Madkour. Again, I will not be with you tomorrow. I'll speak to you on Monday. Until then, stay healthy, be good to each other. I'll speak to you in a few days.