Jay Monahan’s $18.6M Payout and More: 3 Biggest Takeaways as PGA Tour’s 2022 Tax Filings Come to Light

A tenfold jump in the legal filings. A near 30% increase in the PGAT commissioner’s salary. These are some of the key highlights from the PGA Tour’s 2022 IRS filings. The tax filings of the non-profit entity show the LIV Golf’s effect on the PGAT in tangible terms. 

It should be noted that the Tax filings are for 2022, six months prior to Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan announcing a framework agreement. The tax filings also shed some light on Monahan’s decision to shake hands with his former arch-enemy. Here are three main takeaways from the IRS filings.

Three takeaways from PGA Tour IRS filing

The mounting cost of legal jousting

As per the tax filings, the legal costs of the Tour increased more than ten-fold in one year. The PGA Tour spent a ghastly $20.2 million in legal fights last year compared to a ‘meager’ $2 million in 2021.  Comparably, the NCAA, itself embroiled in various litigations, spent $52.9 million in legal fights.

Notably, the figures only take into account five months of legal melee between the Tour and the upstart league. LIV Golf sued the PGA Tour in August, and the Tour didn’t take long to countersue. However, the mounting legal cost didn’t have any blowback in the PGA Tour commissioner’s bank account.

Jay Monahan received a hike

In the aftermath of the $3 billion merger announcement, Jay Monahan took a sabbatical. The round-the-clock battering from the media and players left him hollow-cheeked and washed out, for which, he definitely curses the Great White Shark. However, his bank balance should offer him some consolation. 

Sportico, who obtained the IRS filings, reported that the PGAT commissioner’s compensation has increased by 28.5% from $13.9 million in 2021. Monahan’s overall remuneration last year was $18.6 million. In addition to his $ 1.8 million base salary, the PGAT commissioner received $9.2 million in bonuses and compensations. On top of that, a further $7.4 million actuarial benefit will head to his bank after his retirement. 

An uptick in PGA Tour revenue … and expenses

One positive update for the Tour is that the revenue generation has increased. The PGA Tour reported $1.9 billion in revenue up from $1.59 billion a year earlier. A lion’s share of that comes from TV endorsement deals. 

Read More: Amid Persistent PGA Tour Sponsorship Troubles, Will the $3B PIF Framework Agreement Provide Succor for Jay Monahan?

Last year, the tour signed a nine-year deal with CBS and NBC for telecasting events and granted ESPN the digital rights. Although officials didn’t reveal the financial details, it’s expected to reach around $680 million. The tour’s expenses saw an upward trajectory as well. PGAT spent $1.87 billion this year, compared to $1.55 billion in 2021.

Presumably, the lingering costs of lawsuits and counter-lawsuits were the reason Jay Monahan raised the peace flag with PIF. Reportedly, the PGAT commissioner told his staff that the Tour was raging an unsustainable war with an enemy who had limitless resources. PIF reported $600 billion in assets, higher than the combined total of every NFL owner and 30 times the annual revenue of the NFL, the richest league in global sports. While the PGA tour is locked in talks with PIF, the Saudi sovereign fund keeps footing the bill for LIV Golf, this throws more light on the cost of a war with an entity with deep pockets.

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