PGA Tour promises action against LIV Golf participants; RBC moves swiftly on DJ and McDowell; How high will Broncos sale price go?
Boy, you have to love this time of year, don't you? You have the final four NHL teams battling it out. You have the Warriors hosting the Celtics in the NBA finals. Game one beginning tonight, nine o'clock, ABC. It marks the first time the Celtics and the Warriors have met in the title series since 1964. There's some real history here. The Celtics are seeking their record 18th NBA title. It would be their first since 2008. The Warriors are in the finals for the sixth time in eight years and have become a model on and off the court. Interest is very high. ABC, ESPN, and the NBA loving this. If this goes six or seven games, wow, viewership will be very, very strong. In addition, don't overlook the interest and appeal of the NCAA's Women's College World Series, which begins today from Oklahoma City, as this is one of the fastest growing sports around. So a lot of great stuff going on.
This is your morning Buzzcast. It's Thursday, June 2nd. Good morning. I'm Abe Madkour. I know we led the Buzzcast with it yesterday, but the golf world is facing significant turmoil with the news that Dustin Johnson was offered around $125 million to join LIV Golf. This was first reported by the London Telegraph who reported that it was the result of last-minute negotiations over the weekend between Dustin Johnson's camp and LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman. We've mentioned it. That money is life changing. That's what's speaking to so many of the players who have accepted bids to play on this LIV Golf circuit because Johnson knew this amount of money would be more than enough to compensate for all the controversy he would face, and surely he has already seen some ramifications. Yesterday afternoon, the Royal Bank of Canada, RBC, said it was ending its sponsorship with both Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell over their decisions to compete in the LIV Golf series.
Now, the first LIV Golf event goes up against the PGA Tour's RBC Canadian Open. That event had featured Johnson prominently in all its promotions of the event. Johnson had been an ambassador for RBC since 2018. Graeme McDowell had been an RBC ambassador since 2013. Two other LIV Golf commitments, Lee Westwood and Louis Oosthuizen, in May saw their deals end with longtime sponsor UPS because of their commitment to LIV Golf. So you're seeing just how polarizing joining LIV Golf is, and brands are fighting back and dropping players who commit to LIV Golf.
Meanwhile, a report in London today states that LIV Golf will announce Aston Martin as its first major sponsor when it tees up in London late next week. So this story continues to be ever so dynamic because PGA tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, reportedly met with several player agents at the Memorial earlier this week and stressed that players will not be allowed to play on both the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf Tour. We have said all along, this will end up in the courts. Monahan and the PGA Tour's lawyers surely believe that they can take action against any golfers that play on LIV Golf and that it will hold up in court. So I'll be watching the PGA Tour's next move. But like I said, this is a fast-moving, very interesting dynamic and explosive story around the world of golf.
Well, we talked about it Tuesday on the Buzzcast about the success of the Indy 500 on the ground in Indianapolis, but organizers are likely disappointed with their viewership number, as Sunday's Indy 500 drew its second lowest audience on record. More importantly, it was the race's lowest audience on the traditional Memorial Day weekend. NBC drew just under five million viewers for the race. That only tops one other time in 2020. That's when the race was moved to late August, and there was no fans at the Brickyard. This year's race is down 14% from last year, which is a surprise. Overall, NBC has a better story to tell around the Indy car series, as it's averaging just under two million viewers throughout the first six Indy races so far this year. That's one of its strongest starts to an Indy car season in a while. But overall, I'm sure Indy organizers are disappointed that they didn't draw more viewers this past weekend.
Let's shift to the NFL. A House of Representatives committee that is investigating the workplace culture of the Washington Commanders has requested that Commanders owner, Dan Snyder, and NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, appear before the committee at a hearing scheduled for June 22nd. We've talked about this committee's investigation of the team's workplace and even finances. The committee wrote its request to Goodell and Snyder. Now, it's not immediately clear if either will appear before the committee. Now, if you haven't read it, take time to read a good story or well-written report in Politico. It talks about the political divisions on this House committee and the differences of opinion in the committee's efforts to investigate the Commanders. But overall, it is not good for Goodell or Snyder to be asked to appear. I believe both will do all they can to avoid any appearance before the committee.
Let's stay with the NFL and the sale of the Denver Broncos. I was at a lunch on Tuesday, and I was asked if I felt the Broncos would sell for $5 billion. I immediately believed that it would not get to that price, but I might be wrong because SBJ's Ben Fisher reported that multiple bids of $4.5 billion or more for the team are expected in the second round of bids that are due Monday. There could even be a third round of bids, but sources say they expect a new owner to be chosen by mid to late June, so this month a new owner should be chosen. But it's clear that this auction-type of bidding process could push that final purchase price for the Denver Broncos to near or even more than $5 billion.
We'll end the Buzzcast around baseball. A couple of interesting notes from SBJ's Terry Lefton. First, with travel rebounding, Amtrak has reignited its sports marketing efforts after a five-year hiatus. They will now activate team sponsorships throughout the East and signing team deals with the Mets, the Nationals, the Orioles, the Phillies, the Red Sox, and the Yankees. So Amtrak will do both digital exposure and signage and pitching mound exposure at the ballpark. Amtrak is said to be looking for visibility every day, obviously targeting East Coast travelers. That's why it targeted baseball. But it speaks to the vibrant sports sponsorship market right now, both in media and onsite and in venue.
While we're on baseball deals, Terry Lefton also reported that Two Circles has won the assignment to sell the Philadelphia Phillies Jersey Patch that players will wear beginning next season. We've talked about this competitive process of agencies looking to sell the Jersey Patch. Two circles won a pitch for the Phillies. It included eight agencies and lasted more than two months. This marks a big win for Two Circles. This is a UK-based agency. This is its first major United States sales assignment. It has a history of selling major kit deals for teams like Chelsea and AC Milan. But like I said, this is its first big assignment in the United States. It's a big win for former Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment chief commercial officer, Adam Davis. He joined Two Circles as managing director for North America in October. He landed this pitch, and he landed this deal and assignment for the Phillies. Like I said, a big win for Adam Davis and Two Circles, and it shows the agency competition over MLB Jersey Patch sales. So I expect that competition to continue with other teams.
That is your morning Buzzcast. It is Thursday, June 2nd. Kind of nice to have a short work week. I'm Abe Madkour. Hope everybody has a great day. Stay healthy. Be good to each other. I'll speak to you tomorrow.