Commissioner of the PGA Tour Jay Monahan raised his annual salary to $18,600,000 from $13,900,000 the previous year – Reports
In 2022, Jay Monahan had a difficult year. The 53-year-old was clearly under stress from the controversies surrounding the then-new LIV Golf. Overall though, according to reports, Monahan’s pay as a PGA Tour Commissioner increased from $13,900,000 in 2021 to $18,600,000 in 2022, so it wasn’t a horrible year.Sportico was able to obtain tax records that demonstrate the PGA Tour’s increased revenue in fiscal year 2022, which included a $4.9 million increase in Jay Monahan’s pay. The media outlet provided the following explanation of Jay Monahan’s payment for his work as PGA Tour Commissioner:
“The commissioner’s 2022 haul includes a $1.8 million base salary, $9.2 million in bonus and incentive compensation, and an actuarial estimate of $7.4 million for non-cash benefits that he will receive after he retires.”
Sportico also pointed out that the PGA Tour declared $1.9 billion in earnings for 2022—a significant rise above $1.55 billion for 2021.What’s even more intriguing is that the legal fees for the PGA Tour climbed tenfold from one year to the next (from $2 million in 2021 to $20.7 million in 2022), according statistics released by Sportico. An additional consequence of LIV Golf’s rise.Following LIV Golf’s founding, a number of players filed lawsuits against the PGA Tour, contesting punishments they had been given for switching circuits. The lawsuits were ultimately dropped, but tax returns showed the PGA Tour how much this legal struggle cost them financially.
Jay Monahan’s PGA Tour 2022 tax reports: Other details
Sportico was able to get PGA Tour tax records, which show that the circuit’s 2022 earnings were derived from a number of sources, including:
$763 million for media rights
Managed Tournaments: $229 million
$196 million in co-sponsored tournaments
Sponsorship of the Program: $201 million
$38 million is the other.
In 2022, the Jay Monahan-led circuit incurred large costs as well. Sportico released data showing that expenses came to $1.87 billion, $32 million more than the year before.The fight between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has put a strain on the tour’s finances beyond merely the cost of legal bills. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, which reportedly has over $600 billion in capital, supports LIV Golf.The PIF has invested more than $2 billion in LIV Golf, according to a May 2023 Golf.com article that featured Greg Norman, the CEO of the league.
In terms of player signings and prize money for every tournament, this number has been flipped, allowing LIV Golf to financially set itself apart from the PGA Tour.The acquisition of Jon Rahm, whose signing bonus is said to have exceeded $300 million, is the most recent example. Furthermore, there are other elements of Rahm’s contract that have not been made public but which will definitely increase the circuit’s cost in this transaction.
