Did The Tour Leave As Much As A Billion Dollars On The Table?

As we get ready to kick off another unpredictable Players Championship (Sean Martin on the amazingly wild track records at TPC for top players even those who have played well here), Cameron Morfit talks to a few folks about the challenges facing likely incoming Commissioner Jay Monahan.

In the short term, Morfit outlines how Miami, Trump and the WGC figure to be a huge matter, as will FedEx in 2017 if Commissioner Reset isn't able to secure a new deal before he hands over his NetJets card.

But as I've outlined in a few posts, the tour seems to be building some leverage with television networks for the next deal with various media ventures. Morfit's reporting suggests what I suspected: the tour is operating with a bit of a chip on its shoulder for having been out negotiated by Comcast when signing for 15 years to be on Golf Channel exclusivity with no out clause, even as the network takes on the money losing leftovers like the Web.com and Champions Tours.

Ogilvie, who was on the policy board when the Tour's 15-year deal with Golf Channel was announced in 2006, says Monahan will have to shore up the main TV deal, which he says is costing players money. Ogilvie's assessment is based on recent sports-television deals, specifically the 12-year Fox-USGA pact, which was said to be worth around $100 million a year when it was announced in '13.

"The Tour left $700 million to $1 billion on the table when it did the deal with Golf Channel," Ogilvie says. "There's been astronomical growth since then, and with 20/20 hindsight Comcast got a sweetheart deal. Tim went for what was safe, and you can't fault him for that."

Pre-20/20 hindsight, the deal got all early rounds on TV, which as I recall, was a pretty big deal and has been sensational for the players. No one could have seen rights fees going the way they did, so the tour has nothing to be bitter about. Except that the rights craze may be subsiding and nets like ESPN and Fox are likely not going to be bidding on any golf.