Topline
Greg Norman, the CEO and commissioner of the controversial PGA Tour competitor LIV Golf, will head to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss the league with lawmakers over concerns about the new circuit’s business ties with Saudi Arabia.
Greg Norman bellows in triumph during the LIV Golf Invitational London Draft on June 7, 2022, in … [+]
Key Facts
Norman will meet with both Republicans and Democrats to educate them on the league’s business model, according to Politico, which first reported the news.
LIV believes it is “imperative” to visit lawmakers amid the PGA Tour’s “attempts to stifle our progress,” a spokesman told Politico.
LIV did not immediately respond to a Forbes request for comment.
Key Background
LIV tournaments launched earlier this year and has swiped some of the PGA Tour’s top players, including American stars Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. Last month, a group of 11 LIV players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, which has suspended all members who play in the competing circuit’s events. In July, the Justice Department launched a separate antitrust investigation. LIV has come under fire for being financed by the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund, with critics saying LIV is helping to “sports wash” the country’s history of human rights abuses. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon and Apple both turned down pitches to include LIV golf tournaments on their streaming services.
What To Watch For
More advocates for the new league in Congress. LIV registered to lobby on Capitol Hill earlier this year, Politico reported last month. Hobart Hallaway & Quayle Ventures will advocate on the league’s behalf, and the law firm noted in a filing it would lobby on “education and issues related to the game of professional golf in the United States and abroad” and “protecting the rights of professional golfers to play when and where they choose.”
Big Number
$200 million. That’s how much Mickelson was rumored to have been signed for in a contract with LIV. Mickelson has not confirmed the reports. If true, he would have surpassed $1 billion in career earnings, according to Forbes’ estimates.
Further Reading
Majors, Monopolies, Megabucks And Donald Trump: Inside The Business Of The New Saudi Golf League (Forbes)
Here’s Where LIV Golf’s TV Future Stands After Apple And Amazon’s Reported Rejection (Forbes)
The World’s Highest-Paid Golfers 2022: LIV Golf Reshuffles Top Earners And Sends Pay Soaring (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/09/19/liv-ceo-greg-norman-will-reportedly-lobby-lawmakers-in-dc-amid-controversy-over-saudi-arabia-links/