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Tiger Woods (above, left) and Rory McIlroy (above, right) won’t hit golf shots in their new alternative league for at least another six months, but their unique business venture is already worth a lot of money.
Front Office Sports can confirm that TMRW Sports, the parent company of the tech-centric golf competition TGL, is valued at nearly $500 million in a Series A funding round announced Monday. Led by investment firms Dynasty Equity and Connect Ventures, the new money means Woods and McIlroy have built a half-billion-dollar company without staging a single event.
Ready for Action
TGL, which has 24 PGA Tour players committed for its first season, is set to debut in January, after venue problems pushed back the original start date, scheduled for earlier this year, by 12 months. SoFi Center, the new 1,500-seat South Florida stadium that will host all TGL matches, had a power failure last fall that led to its air-supported dome collapsing. Now, a permanent roof is being built.
ESPN is signed up as TGL’s media-rights partner under a multiyear deal that should put the league in front of mainstream sports fans beyond just a golf-centric audience—all in prime time. Golfers will hit some shots using a simulator and others at the venue’s 22,475-square-foot green and short game area.
Dollars and Cents
The new league will start with six teams of three players each. Franchise owners include well-known sports team owners like Arthur Blank (Falcons, Atlanta United) and Steve Cohen (Mets), and Woods himself, among others.
Most team owners are also investors in TMRW Sports, which has a long list of athletes, celebrities, and major investment firms with stakes in the company. New investor Dynasty Equity last year made its entry in sports by purchasing a minority stake in Liverpool for $200 million (the Premier League club is owned by Fenway Sports Group, another TMRW investor and TGL team owner).
