Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, reportedly made over $23 million in 2023 from regular and deferred pay.
According to Sportico, they got hold of the PGA Tour Inc.’s tax return for 2023. The breakdown shows Monahan’s base salary was about $1.9 million, with bonuses and incentives adding up to $12.1 million. He also has future benefits estimated at $2.5 million and long-term incentives worth $6.7 million post-2023.
The total is an estimate since around $9 million is deferred to later years, which might change. Still, it’s a bump of roughly $4.4 million compared to his 2022 earnings of $18.6 million.
Monahan’s Earnings and Legal Costs:
In June 2023, the PGA Tour revealed talks with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) behind LIV Golf for possible collaboration. This period saw significant legal expenses too, though less than in 2022; they spent about $18.7 million on legal fees compared to nearly $21 million previously.
Ronald Price, the chief operating officer of the PGA Tour, earned over $13 million during this time as well—bonuses included! The tour itself pulled in revenue of $1.82 billion plus an extra $2.52 billion from selling non-inventory assets.
Fans might think these numbers are mind-blowing!
Afterward, a massive investment deal worth $3 billion was announced between the PGA Tour and Strategic Sports Group through their new venture called PGA Tour Enterprises.
Ongoing Talks with PIF:
Discussions with PIF continue as Monahan and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan were seen together at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October—a sign that negotiations may be moving forward positively.
Earlier this week, Steve Cohen from SSG sounded hopeful about finalizing a deal soon despite it being almost 18 months since talks began: “It’s a lot of moving parts and I think we’ll get there,” he said at a New York media event on Monday.
What do you think about all these big numbers?
