TGL, the Monday night golf league backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, is in talks with bidders for its first six franchises, each of which comes with a 3% equity stake in the new venture.
The teams, which will debut with TGL next year, are each projected to have about $12.4 million in annual revenue by the league’s third season, according to estimates in an investment deck circulated to prospective owners. The 56-page document, dated February 2023 and viewed recently by Sportico, contains financial projections for the league, plus unreleased details about its business plan, cap table and gameplay.
TGL is the first venture from TMRW Sports, launched last year by Woods, McIlroy and former NBC Sports executive Mike McCarley. The group, which has partnered with the PGA Tour, has a long list of well-known investors, and is hoping to use new technology, a giant simulator and a fan-friendly format to add a new wrinkle to professional golf. Woods and McIlroy have already committed to playing, as have major championship winners Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose and Adam Scott.
TGL and Evolution Media Capital, which is handling the sale process, have spoken recently with more than 30 groups that expressed preliminary interest, according to someone familiar with the process. Executives are in Augusta, Ga., this week during the Masters meeting with some of those potential bidders, said the person, who was granted anonymity because the details are private.
TMRW Sports declined to comment. A representative for Evolution Media Capital, which is CAA’s merchant bank, also declined to comment. (Connect Ventures, a joint venture between CAA and NEA, is a TMRW investor).
TMRW will hold 54% of the TGL equity, with the PGA Tour holding 18%, according to a slide from the deck. The six team owners will control a combined 18%, with the final 10% held in a “Player Pool.”
The six franchises, according to the deck, will each be given a geographical affiliation, even though the TGL matches will take place in the same indoor facility at Palm Beach State College in South Florida. Those cities or regional zones will be determined by the bidders who are eventually chosen, according to someone familiar with the plan.
Ownership groups must have a control person who holds at least 33.3% of the team and at least 51% of its voting shares. Each team has representation on the TGL board of governors, plus that 3% stake in the overall venture, which includes a pro rata share of any cash distributions, according to the presentation. The deck doesn’t mention target valuations or a specific timeline for the bidding.
TGL franchises will make money through the same basic revenue buckets as other traditional sports franchises—revenue sharing, sponsorships, merchandise, ticket sales, events and team-specific media opportunities. The league-wide revenue sharing, a structure that appears similar to the NFL’s “national revenue,” is projected to be $2.4 million per team in its first year, the deck says, growing to $7.6 million in 2033. Team-specific revenue, largely via sponsorship and licensing, is projected to grow from $4.4 million in 2024 to $13.3 million in 2033.
Those projections have been revised upwards in the past two months, according to someone familiar with the franchise talks, who didn’t provide specifics. The conversations currently center around each team breaking even during TGL’s first season, the person said.
To generate that league-wide revenue, TGL is relying on the sale of its data and media rights, corporate partnerships, sports betting deals and match-day ticket sales. The league will handle the vast majority of the player compensation, according to the deck, with each team responsible for paying its three players a smaller base salary during the regular season.
TGL plans to run its debut season from January-April next year, a stretch when NBA and NHL regular season games will be its main pro sports competition on Monday nights. Events will feature a large simulator screen, with fans able to influence course conditions. A typical match, played by teams of three golfers competing in singles and a modified alternate shot format, will take about two hours, dramatically shorter than even a single round of a standard pro golf tournament.
There will be greenside seating inside the custom venue, plus media partners that have not yet been selected.
