There are roughly 450 players in the NBA (30 teams, 15 players each, 13 eligible to play). The top 50 players earned between $20 Million and some $46 Million on the court annually. The average NBA player makes around $7.3 Million; the lowest $1 Million. Its commissioner reportedly made $10 Million pre-Covid.
Based on the last full year pre-Covid (2018-19), Rory was the only player to crack $20 Million, and only because he earned the $15 Million FedEx bonus. J.B. Holmes came in at #50 at $2.3 Million. Johnson Wagner at #150 made $668k. Mr. Monahans earns roughly $3 Million.
My understanding of PGA Tour governance is a bit different than the picture of a democracy painted here. Perhaps the Player Advisory Council works similarly to member advisory boards at corporately-owned country clubs where they "advise" and management/ownership throws them a bone and proceeds to do as it pleases on the big things.
Or maybe the Black-dominated players in the NBA are a hell of a lot smarter than their "white privileged" counterparts playing golf. BTW, I had an experience recently with a well-known Tour player on a TIO ruling which perhaps lends credence to this theory. Maybe the Player Advisory Council should meet with its NBA counterpart and explore best methods. I don't know what would scare the bureaucracy more, LIV or a proper professional players' union.
Anyways, basketball players go overseas to ply their trade and come back without anyone's panties getting in a twist. PGA and European Tour players go back an forth, and I am unaware of a rule that prohibits them from doing this if there is an event in their home tour. PGA Tour players sometimes play their state opens and they were free to play in the Middle East before and accept appearance money.
So, while I understand why the Tour is acting as it is, a) they got themselves into this fix by not spreading the wealth well enough, b) by pretending that those who signed on the dotted line can be dealt with more like employees than the independent contractors they claim to be, and c) by acting arbitrarily depending on who the player is and who is sponsoring an event. We have had unsavory sponsors in the U.S. (e.g. Stanford Financial) and there are far worse groups with their thumb on Golf's scale than the Saudis.
Though the PGA Tour is not a monopoly per se, it wants to act like one. Funny, I wasn't aware that predatory pricing was a common practice employed by monopolies as these, by definition, have no credible competition. I wouldn't argue that the Saudi's game plan is unsustainable- Greens and Lefties here may think that through sheer political power they will strand carbon in the ground, I suspect that this won't be the case and the Saudis will still be able to light their cigars with $100 bills for a few more decades. We might remember that Amazon went 14 years without turning a profit- and that is pricing below full costs, what some might mistake as predatory pricing when, in fact, is a common approach to gain a foothold (btw, I like my few loss leaders at the grocery store even though I know that they don't make a dent on the so-called transitory inflation- paid $4.27/gal for gas at Costco today, more than double the price just 18 months ago- those Russian bastards!
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The Tour, in fact, seems to be afraid that the upstart will draw away its players by offering more money than it is prepared to share with its members. It seems to prefer the current structure which tightly controls supply (who plays and where) while supporting a $Billion+ rainy-day kitty for the benefit of whom? The bureaucracy? For Pete's sake, the Tour is supposed to be a non-profit! Start spreading the wealth like other sports, let the players pay their income taxes, and even at $.50 on the $1, the temptation to jump ship will be diminished. And if you lose some marginal players, there are any number waiting to replace them- I live-scored for Mito Pereira last year on the Korn Ferry Tour and he damned near won the PGA just a year later! The bench is deep.
And yes, Niall, I was referring in part to the imbalance in bargaining power, the Tour vs. its individual members, and the governments' oversight even when all the Ts are crossed and the Is dotted. I am not a lawyer nor do I talk to lawyers who practice in the antitrust space, but it seems to me that lobbing the threat of a potential life ban is grossly excessive and could very well invite judicial action. Negotiate and let some of them play! Clean your own house, bake some cookies, and make it so very few would want to leave.