in recent weeks. I remember, when I first heard about live
golf, I didn't really know what the capital L IV was. I'm
thinking Super Bowl, 50 for Chiefs over the 49ers, like,
what the hell is this? And then you start to learn a little bit
about it and how they're coming in and they're poaching. Some
of the best golfers
and the PGA Tour reacted in a very negative and hostile way.
And oh by the way the Department of Justice is
investigating the PGA tour. Now for anti-competitive practices
in potential violation
The antitrust laws that's how aggressively the PGA reacted to
this threat, that came out of nowhere and now
they're talking about poaching. Charles Barkley
from inside the NBA
to be a commentator for live golf
and this all flows from
what's known as the public investment fund six hundred and
twenty billion dollars. It is a Saudi
Owned wealth fund that has amassed six hundred and twenty
billion.
Basically, Venture Capital where you got the money
to fund any damn Venture, you want. 620 billion.
That is obscene.
So what do you do?
Well, you target the PGA and look as
as sports leagues. Go,
it doesn't get any cheaper
than trying to start a Golf Link.
You don't need a lot of equipment.
You don't need a lot of players.
You don't need a lot of coaches. You don't need a front
office staff, the individual players are the team, and
I know they have like a team concept and I don't know enough
about how live golf is going to work, but I know that it has
Rattled. The PGA Tour to it's very foundation and I have been
Asking myself, this very simple question,
is golf
the beginning
or the end for what the public investment fund with six
hundred and twenty billion dollars plans do? If it's
the end and all the other major American Sports can just sit
and watch the PGA Tour, possibly go up in Flames. But
if it's at
the beginning,
and what point does, the public investment fund, within six
hundred twenty billion and growing, presumably decide
to try to set up a competitor for NBA,
MLB,
NHL or, or
The biggest bully on the American Sports block.
The NFL,
the wfl back in the 70s. Tried to go head-to-head with the NFL
poached, guys like Larry's, Anka big names. Offered them
a bunch of money.
Didn't work didn't have the money to make it work. Usfl
showed up in the early 80s.
Got some talent that otherwise would have gone to the NFL week
in the NFL's. Overall talent pool
for spring football,
then decided to move to the fall sued, the NFL for
allegations of antitrust violations. In one, the only
problem is he didn't prove damages so they won a single
dollar but they proved that the NFL reacted to the threat posed
by the usfl by engaging in illegal practice.
Under the antitrust laws. Well
do you think the NFL is going to do if all of a sudden
the public investment fund with its six hundred and twenty billion
dollars decides
to have a football league?
It plays in football season, not spring.
I'm telling you all due respect to the usfl and the XFL. It's
hard to get people to give a crap about football in
the spring. It just is,
you can talk yourself into it
networks, that televise the games and owners of these
leagues, but for the average football fan, when it's not
football season, you don't care about football. I know I don't
and it's not like I get caught up in the other sports. I care
about the NFL, offseason in the NFL, Offseason. Because there's
so much that happens,
but you start dropping
professional football.
Tuesday night,
Wednesday night,
Friday night,
Saturday in competition with college football, which as
these planets realign,
you know, there may be fewer college games that anyone who
really gives a crap about as you have top-tier conferences
and then lower tiers, it may just be the only one only
anyone cares about. The only
conference is, let me try that again, the only country.
The only conference is anyone cares about will be the SEC in the
Ten
that creates room. If there's some alternative professional
league and it's all potentially driven by the legalization of
gambling
people want things on which to gamble.
So
would the public investment fund with six hundred and
twenty billion and Counting gamble on creating a true
competitor. The NFL and the biggest weakness for the league
is this
The rookie wage scale. The thing that was put in place
back in 2011, to hold down, the pay that is given to
the incoming players.
Congratulations, it work. But you know what? It's done.
It's created a flaw. That could be exploited by a competitor.
That says, hey, we'll pay twice, three times, four times,
whatever the NFL is paying
on this rookie wage scale, which is non-negotiable.
We will do it.
The rookie wage scale would evaporate quickly, if that kind
of a threat shows up, for the NFL and the NFL would try all
sorts of other things. And my only point is this,
I don't know if it's going to happen.
I don't know if it's gonna work.
I'm not rooting for it.
I love a good story
and man, a little chaos, goes a long way toward creating a good
story. I just think that we're all conditioned to the idea
that the NFL is never going to face a challenger
when you consider
the,
the American Appetite for pro football.
the fact that legalized gambling will create a greater
desire and interest in more forms of football in more
football games on which to bet, especially during football
season,
there's an opening there and if
the folks who are
pursuing
relevance for live golf decide that they're going to turn
their attention, some point to football, and if they can
attract some of the top college Talent,
And if they can maybe pilfer
a player whose contract has expired. But he's been slapped
with the franchise tag. He's not under contract with an NFL
team, but his rights are restricted as to who else he
can play for, he could jump too.
This other
professional football league. It's just, it's just something
that I think the NFL would be wise to be thinking about
be very wise to have a plan ready to go, a contingency plan
to protect itself,
maybe even steps to put in place now
to protect itself
against that threat
and also
Be careful tread lightly
because it's very easy to engage in the kind of practice
the stuff. The NFL thinks it's entitled to do. Plenty of
the things, the NFL does
all the time without even thinking about it. I would
assume could potentially become antitrust violations. If
the NFL is facing a real in seasoned competitor and I'm
just fascinated by where this can go. So I'm going to pay
attention
to what live golf does
and I'm going to pay attention
to whether or not they have other aspirations. And if it works
If live golf works.
Why not give it a shot? 620
billion. There's a lot of stuff that they could do in
the Sports World. If they choose to go, all in
and compete in an era
where people are looking for things
on which to wait,