There’s no way to sugar-coat this.
There’s no defending the PGA Tour.
This week the PGA Tour basically showed its true colors when it was time to help the flood-stricken folks in Houston.
Millions of dollars have been pouring in from the other major sports organizations. But not the PGA Tour.
The PGA Tour, with its extremely deep pockets and very, very short arms, ponied up for $250,000.
Commissioner Jay Monahan should be totally embarrassed, even ashamed at that.
It is that time, time to bring up what a financially FAT organization the PGA Tour really is. One of the things that shovels even more dollars into the PGA Tour coffers is that it operates under the guise of a “not-for-profit.”
Forbes Magazine blew the whistle on the PGA Tour way back in 2013 and brought up some eye-popping numbers. Forbes took a look at the PGA Tour’s tax returns from the year 2011. Back then, The Tour had $2 billion in revenues. Yes, $2 BILLION. You know that number has gone way up.
In 2011, The Tour had an investment portfolio worth nearly $1 billion. Yeah, a cool BILLION. And here’s the real catch — with it’s tax-free status, The Tour pays ZERO income tax from the monies made on that massive fortune.
What a racket!
The Tour has some for-profit businesses in its fold. Still, back in 2011, off that $2 billion in revenues, our friends paid only $800,000 in income taxes.
And these are the people who dug deep and came up with $250,000 for the Hurricane Harvey Relief Effort.
Well, the bad news for Jay Monhan and his henchmen up there in Ponte Vedra Beach is that they’ve been totally out-done, out-worked and shown up by one single NFL player and that’s J.J. Watt.
Watt, all by his lonesome, with just his contacts, has his relief efforts at $14 million and growing.
The Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens have thrown in $1 million each.
Arthur Blank, owner of the Falcons threw in a cool million.
Leonard Fournette, the rookie running back for Jacksonville is contributing $50,000. You mean to tell us the PGA Tour can only come up with $200,000 more than a rookie running back?
Shame on you Jay Monahan.
For years the PGA Tour has been puffing its chest and telling us how much it raises for charities in the cities that host Tour events, well, the Tour doesn’t raise that money, it’s the local guys like the Salesmanship Club in Dallas and the Thunderbirds out there in Arizona. They raise the money for charity. Did we mention that there is a PGA Tour event IN HOUSTON?
And the guys who fork over the big money to play in the pro-ams, that money goes to the charities.
Add to this disgrace the fact that the PGA Tour also has a plethora of fat-cat corporations at its beck-and-call, companies like FedEx, Waste Mangement, AT&T, Sony, John Deere and more.
You would think that Jay Monahan and the rest of the Ebeneezer Scrooges up there at Tour Headquarters, the Ponte Vedra Palace, would give their fat corporate partners a jingle and say something like “Hey, let’s be the shining examples of the sports world, flex our money muscles and donate $1 EACH to the cause.”
That’s what The Tour should have done.
But it didn’t.
That’s what you get from an organization with deep, deep pockets and very, very short arms.
6 Comments
TJB Chicago
Hey, Tom. I have to tell ya, I just can’t agree with you – at all – on your criticism of the PGA Tour in this issue, and in fact find your approach very short-sighted. The PGA Tour does their part constantly and without the bravado that so many come to expect as ‘normal’ (dare I say expected) these days. The ‘Oh, there’s a problem so let me throw money at it and get the accolades that go along with doing so publicly’ is perhaps the most obnoxious approach to grabbing headlines around these days. A measured, steady-handed approach to ‘serving’ works for me, and if everyone does a little bit, no one has to do a lot. And there will ALWAYS be people and organizations that do more than others. Criticizing those that do things their own way is, in a word, (and I’ll borrow the word from your bio), misguided. Better to give everyone credit for doing what they can, and encourage more people and organizations to do the same. In fact, once I post this I’m heading to the Red Cross’s website to do my little part as well. Perhaps invite your readers to do the same. All the best, TJB Chicago
Tom Edrington
TJB: Many pitching in here in Tampa, I am, our Sons Of AmVets Squadron will be, our church, everywhere you turn. The Tour regards itself as a major sports organization but made a very minor contribution here, considering the tax-exempt status of the tour and that its massive investment portfolio is able to grow tax-free. So we will have to agree to disagree. Love how J.J. Watt has stepped up. The tour had a chance to set a great example, ask it’s corporate partners to join in and provide massive $$$$$ relief and this damage is going to take money to fix so yes, this one will have to be solved by throwing a MASSIVE amount of money at the disaster, rather than a “problem”
TJB Chicago
Yes, agree to disagree, in particular on “approach”. I prefer to applaud all efforts and respectfully ask if more would be/is doable, vs., well, that’s just how I roll vs. other styles of approaches.
Tom Edrington
Well, okay, my Sons Of AmVets Squadron just sent 30% of our net worth to a Sons squadron in Houston that along with its Vets Post has been doing some great things there……still totally disappointed by The Tour, they even have an event there……
TJB Chicago
Well done, Tom.
Tom Edrington
So excited for Stacy Lewis and her win, and her donation of winner’s check of $195,000, matched by her main sponsor, KPMG, total $390,000!