LeBron James and Drake Are Investing in the PGA Tour
LeBron James and Drake are certainly used to the spotlight—and now they’re ready to shine it on the links.
The Los Angeles Laker and the Canadian rapper are the latest investors in the PGA Tour, according to The New York Times. The news comes after a group of financiers and sports team owners, led by Fenway Sports Group (F.S.G.), said it would imbue up to $3 billion in the organization over a month ago. The NBA star, who is basketball’s first active billionaire, and the five-time Grammy winner are just two of the names now revealed to be part of the bunch, alongside other sports and entertainment power players.
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James and Drake are also providing additional capital as “strategic investors” of the organization, with a focus on using their marketing power to widen the game’s audience. Recent talks surrounding the matter were reportedly held between the basketball legend and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan reportedly discussed details surrounding that approach at F.S.G chairman Tom Werner’s home recently, according to the newspaper.
Both GOATs are still fairly new sports investors. In 2021, King James took a stake in F.S.G., which owns the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F.C. His new venture with the PGA, however, is separate from the group’s involvement. The Los Angeles Laker and Drizzy also became investors of A.C. Milan in 2022; RedBird Capital Partners and the owners of the New York Yankees are backers of the popular Italian soccer club, too.
Other new investors of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America include billionaires Arthur Blank of the Home Depot, Marc Lasry of Avenue Capital Group, and Steve Cohen of Point 72. All three businessmen have ties to sports: Blank bought the Atlanta Falcons in 2002 for $545 million and later founded the Atlanta United FC soccer club in 2017; Lasry and financier Wes Edens paid $550 million for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2014 (Lasry has since sold his stake of the team); and Cohen coughed up a whopping $2.4 billion for the New York Mets in 2020. The backers’ focus is on reinvigorating the game.
“Golf can be so much more than a sport,” Drake told Dealbook, The New York Times‘s financial news service, in a statement. “I remember some of my best childhood memories was being on the golf course with my uncle. It’s one thing to invest in a team, but to help reimagine one of the biggest leagues in the world is an incredible opportunity and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
Looks like we may be seeing Drizzy and James on the links sooner rather than later.
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