Want to Own a Piece of Professional Golf? LIV’s Teams Are for Sale.
The Postman makes his way up the Florida Turnpike, traveling with a longtime colleague after spending a good part of the day modeling different uniforms and posing for photographs and videos.
Now he’s making a different kind of delivery.
Nicknamed years ago because of his proclivity for producing when it mattered most for Europe in the Ryder Cup, Ian Poulter attempts to describe a different concept after spending time with the team captains from the LIV Golf League who were on hand to help produce the preseason photo and video content.
He is traveling with Henrik Stenson, one of his teammates, to their homes in the Orlando area. They’re talking to a reporter and trying to help make sense of the entire LIV Golf team idea, one on which the league has based its financial future.
At another point in their careers, these pros might have done the exact same thing for a corporate sponsor, an equipment manufacturer, a clothing maker. For that, they would be compensated as part of an endorsement deal. And it might have been considered drudgery.
This is different. They, like all LIV golfers, are tasked with selling their teams. And that will be an ongoing process as the second year of LIV Golf is set to launch Friday.
Ben Van Hook/Sports Illustrated
"It was an evaluation which happened over time," says Poulter, 47, who along with Stenson, Lee Westwood and Sam Horsfield make up the Majesticks, one of 12 teams composed of four players each that are part of the LIV Golf League.
"Going through the details of how the dynamic would work with stroke play and also a team event built into the same week. It took a little bit of getting my head around it to start. But as soon as you sit down and break down the business aspect of that, the franchise aspect of what was on offer with all of these teams, I started to understand what it would really mean."
And what does it mean? Frankly, that is still a mystery to most outside LIV Golf. And there are undoubtedly numerous skeptics who wonder how team golf can succeed as part of an individual sport, without the obvious allegiances sports fans are accustomed to for their various rooting interests around the world.
With LIV Golf, spectators saw the raucous, champagne-filled celebrations at events last year, dominated by the 4Aces team, which won four consecutive tournaments and split $3 million in prize money each time. Captain Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez reveled in those team riches.
It all looked like a great time, and LIV Golf officials pushed the team aspect at every opportunity. Still, the Hy Flyers and Crushers and the Smash and all the other teams and their names have not exactly caught on. At least not yet. And it remains fair to wonder how this is all supposed to turn into some sort of profitable venture for LIV Golf.
There appear to be no doubters among LIV golfers. Every player involved in the league seems to have bought in. While a majority of the name players are being paid handsomely in the form of upfront guarantees, and there is $20 million in prize money each week for individuals, they view the team part as the long-term future.
"There are some incredible opportunities, especially globally," says Hy Flyers captain Phil Mickelson, who is well versed in the idea after spending considerable time studying it. "As things play out and become a little bit more clear, the TV deal [with the CW Network] and how that will work, what impact there is at the LIV events, where our numbers were limited last year [due to spectator limits].
"As we have bigger crowds, grow the overall interest level, see how TV is presented … that will ultimately make clear what is the value, what is the worth. We’ve already gotten a couple of things done corporately that I think we can continue to build on."
Mickelson quibbled with the notion that the Majesticks seemingly are ahead of the game, an idea that might also elicit an argument from other teams who have been scurrying behind the scenes. Johnson, for example, noted that one of the reasons to part ways with Adidas was to allow him to help sell a clothing deal that will benefit his 4Aces team. LIV Golf officials put the Majesticks forward as the team that seems to understand best how to go about this.
Poulter, Stenson and Westwood go back more than two decades and decided to join in this venture once they understood how it would work. The three European Tour stalwarts combined to win 48 European events and played on a combined 22 Ryder Cup teams.
They’ve likely given up future golf royalty in the form of European Ryder Cup captaincies—Stenson was slated to be the captain this year in Rome before he joined LIV Golf and was removed from the position—a steep price to pay for an idea that still remains fuzzy to most.
But the key to the entire concept—and the reason you hear and see so much enthusiasm—is that each team captain has been given equity in their team.
What does that mean?
Well, if Mickelson’s Hy Flyers team sells to a potential franchise owner for, say, $100 million—Mickelson gets $25 million. LIV Golf keeps $75 million, one way of recouping the millions upon millions it has spent to launch.
That same goes for Crushers captain Bryson DeChambeau and Johnson of the 4Aces. In addition to the captains' big upfront paydays—in excess of $100 million—there is a potential windfall on the back end.
But how much these franchises can fetch remains a huge question. How do you put a value on a golf team? How does a potential owner see a return on investment? Is it just a vanity play, or is there potential to make money?
Greg Norman, LIV Golf’s CEO and commissioner, maintains there is interest and that offers have already been made. But the league is holding out to try to show that these franchises have more potential than what the outside world sees now.
"We put a lot of stock and value on that," Norman says. "They’ve got to go out and get their sponsorships. [The Majesticks] are well ahead of the game. They are one of the movers. They understand it. They made their mark in the U.K. and Europe and have been very quick to figure things out.
"And they've created this vacuum effect of sucking along these other teams. And to hear their vision for what they want to do with their teams and what regions of America or the world they want to go to is inspiring. That's the opportunity."
The Majesticks decided to split their stake equally among the veterans Poulter, Stenson and Westwood. Horsfield, who is from England and whom Poulter mentored when he was a junior player and later starred at the University of Florida, is the one who took perhaps the most risk.
A three-time winner on the European Tour (now DP World Tour), Horsfield is just 26. The others are all in their late 40s with hefty résumés who were presented a lucrative opportunity to go down this path. They have made their mark in the game. Horsfield, however, has his entire career ahead of him, with the PGA Tour and—potentially—the DP World Tour off limits to him due to his participation in LIV Golf. (A ruling is expected soon from a London arbitration panel over whether LIV Golf members with DP World Tour status may continue to play on the Europe-based circuit.)
Lee Westwood (left), Henrik Stenson (second from left) and Ian Poulter (right) made their marks in golf before leaving for LIV. Sam Horsfield (second from right) is by far the youngest on the team and staking his future on the Majesticks.
Ben Van Hook/Sports Illustrated
"I just felt like on the European Tour I was going around in circles," Horsfield says. "At the time, the PGA Tour thing where the 10 guys (from the DP World Tour) go to the PGA Tour hadn’t happened. For me, I just felt like to get my game to the next level it was the right move. I loved being part of a team at UF, best two years of my life. And then there was the relationship with Ian, who I’ve known since I was a junior player."
The team brought on James Dunkley, a U.K.-based agent with Camden Ventures who has represented Poulter previously and now is also the agent for the other three players. Dunkley is effectively the team’s general manager, charged with making it all work from a financial standpoint.
Unlike in 2022, when all of the expenses for the players and caddies were paid for by LIV Golf, the expectation now is that the teams will take on that responsibility. Their ability to produce revenue is via the prize fund for the team competition—$5 million each tournament as well as the season-ending event where the purse is $50 million—and through various sponsorships. And the latter is the tricky part.
"The whole model for the teams is that the more revenue we can generate, the more efficient we can be, and that’s how the revenue flows through to profit, the more valuable these businesses will be," Dunkley says.
"There has been a huge investment from LIV to get us to this point. They've had to fund a lot of money. But we have a budget for this year and if we hit it, it will deliver a profit. In that budget there is risk, of course. But I don't look at it and say 'I've got no chance.' I know I have a viable business model. And if I hit it, it will come close to making a profit in Year 1. That’s a rare thing."
Unlike the "beta" year, when LIV quickly launched last June after signing several past major championship winners to multiyear contracts, the Saudi-funded league will no longer take on the daunting task of paying for the entire tab.
Gone are the four free airline tickets to each player, the comped hotel rooms for players and their caddies, the free meals away from the course.
All of that is to now be handled by the teams, although LIV Golf is helping them get started in the form of an up-front allowance or fee that is expected to diminish over time.
"The league was funding everything," Westwood says. “Now people are having to run each franchise as a business. It’s all coming out of your pocket in some way. And a lot of people are just getting their heads around that. We understand it a lot better. Certainly there are a lot of people asking questions, asking James questions. They want to understand it more.
"I don't know how far down the road selling the teams is. Certainly there is a lot of interest. I've been asked the questions often but there are only 12 teams. And they have to be able to see what they are investing in, right? It is really a question that can’t be answered."
And that is often where the outside noise haunts LIV Golf. The invitational series last year launched without sponsors, a TV deal or any sort of significant revenue source. Given the controversial funding of LIV Golf along with the major disruption it causes in the game, every facet of the business has been understandably poked and prodded. Without seeing any path to revenue, LIV Golf was understandably questioned and criticized.
It is banking its future on the team concept and selling franchises, and how long that process will play out is impossible to know. Norman and LIV officials are not saying if they expect to sell franchises this year. They seem content with waiting to see it play out.
And as long as their Saudi bosses—the Public Investment Fund—are patient, then perhaps there is an opportunity for the various teams to grow their brands and extend their marketing plans.
For now, Dunkley is trying to raise sponsorship money. He can sell areas on each of his player's shirts, sleeves, hats and golf bags, within limitations in place via previous endorsement deals. It's not much different than a player going out and securing such an arrangement on his own. Now it goes to the team. And there are other avenues to sell, such as team sponsorships, hospitality and the like.
Dunkley believes a lot of what LIV is selling is appealing. He's not suggesting it is better than the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour. Just different. Shotgun starts, only 48 players, a smaller window to watch golf, an alternative format that is designed to appeal to a younger demographic.
Because of the team aspect, Dunkley can potentially sell meet-and-greets with players and caddies on site, offer lessons from their coaches or barter seats at hotel breakfasts or dinners.
"One of the things we often face with a traditional sponsorship is how can we get access?" Dunkley says. "As agents and representatives, the service we provide our customers with this is way above and beyond what we could ever do before. We are in control of what we are able to serve our customers. We've got the freedom to go out and put packages together that we are in control of. 'Here’s where they will be. Here's when they tee off.'
"The fan village is interactive. You can bring your family and friends there. We can do things like a team radio that they do in Formula 1. It's going to take some time to educate people on what we can do. But stuff like lessons on the range with a coach, all that kind of stuff is possible where it wasn’t before. From a business perspective, that is what we get excited about when you can provide value to those sponsors."
Stenson noted that golf can be a lonely sport. How everything is done individually. You see the same guys every week, but you go your separate ways. With this concept, he says, now they travel together, practice together, eat together.
"If Ian wins, and I beat him in practice rounds, then it makes me feel as if I can win," says Stenson, who won the LIV Golf Bedminster event in July in his first appearance. "There are a lot of different aspects to this. It's just going to get bigger and stronger as time moves on. And having teammates forces you to pick yourself up even more than if I'm by myself and doing half decent. It's the part of this that is so different."
The financial rewards are obvious. Poulter, Westwood and Stenson were compensated robustly just for signing on with LIV Golf. And they know their playing careers won't last forever, although they see a potential legacy to pass on with the Majesticks as new players come along. How this plays out will be fascinating, because a lot is riding on not only golf's first franchise—but all that are part of LIV Golf.
"Hopefully everybody in the outside world can understand what the bigger picture is and that we can all get together a bit more on that level and help tell another story within a great game of golf we play," Poulter says. "There is more to tell. I just don’t think we've had the right level of time to be able to explain it all."