LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The players will own most of it now. This is what happens when you let Saudi money run a business like a vanity project instead of a business.
The upstart golf venture burned through billions to sign players nobody wanted to watch. Turned out paying Phil Mickelson $200 million does not make people care about Phil Mickelson. The league tried to compete with the PGA Tour by offering more money and worse golf. Retail traders saw this model and thought, "Finally, something dumber than my portfolio."
Now the players get to own the wreckage. They will learn what every failed entrepreneur discovers: ownership means you own the debt too. Congratulations on your new equity stake in a league that couldn't sell tickets to a free event.
The bankruptcy judge will ask what went wrong. The answer is simple. You cannot build a sports league by writing checks and hoping people notice. The PGA Tour survived because it had fans. LIV Golf had a marketing budget and a press release.
The players thought they were getting paid to play golf. Instead they were getting paid to pretend anyone gave a sh*t. Now they own a bankrupt golf league. This is like winning a timeshare in a lawsuit.
Chapter 11 means the league might survive. The players will run it now. They will cut costs and renegotiate deals and realize they have no idea how to run a business. Then they will hire consultants who will tell them to shut it down. The consultants will get paid more than the players made in prize money.
Worker ownership through bankruptcy: the American dream delivered by Saudi capital.
Photo by on Unsplash
Leave a Comment