PGA Tour And Saudi-Backed LIV Golf Agree To Merge, Ending Bitter Legal Feud
deadline.comEnding years of rancor and legal disputes, the PGA Tour has agreed to merge with Saudi-backed LIV Golf. In a joint statement, the two organizations declared it “a landmark agreement to unify the game of golf, on a global basis.” That’s a sharp turn from the rhetoric after the two had filed dueling antitrust suits, with the upstart LIV maintaining that the decades-old PGA had engaged in anticompetitive practices.
The PGA had objected to LIV coming into its turf and luring talent away with hefty payouts, describing that behavior as illegal interference.
As a result of the merger agreement, all legal claims have been dropped by the parties. The merger will have major implications for golf’s TV partners.
The CW, now run by Nexstar Media Group, picked up rights to LIV starting this year as its first live sports programming. The PGA is in business with Disney/ESPN, NBCUniversal and Paramount, all of which took a pass on LIV rights when they became available upon the circuit’s launch in 2022.
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