“SSG didn't come in to give us a bunch of money” – Max Homa says he ‘doesn’t have a beat’ on the PGA Tour-SSG $3,000,000,000 deal
Max Homa isn’t fully aware of what’s happening in the backend of the PGA Tour and Strategic Sports Group (SSG) investment deal. The 33-year-old golfer on Wednesday disclosed that he, like most players on the circuit, ‘doesn't have a beat’ on the deal. He said that the media was wrong to assume that players like him were in the meetings with the SSG.
Homa said that the SSG ‘didn't come in to give the players a bunch of money just for fun.’ He said that the conglomerate led by Fenway Sports Group was in for long-term business. The six-time PGA Tour winner said the investors will be eyeing to open avenues to entertain the fans and “make their money back” in the process. Furthermore, the golfer noted that he completely trusts the PGA board and its vision to grow the game.
Replying to media queries about the SSG deal at a press conference ahead of the WM Phoenix Open in Arizona, Max Homa said (at 1:31):
"If you think I'm in the meetings with the SSG then you've begged me wrong. I don't know. My general point is I feel like that the communication or the things being taken from news in golf now always highlights the money that we're making. I can guarantee that SSG didn't come in to give us a bunch of money just for fun. So, I would imagine that they want to make their money back.
And if you just keep trickling down that rabbit hole well how would that happen and I would say one avenue would be to entertain the fans so that we have more fans while keeping the ones that we've got at the moment and making money that way. So that's just how I see it. I don't have a beat on it. But I know that the management of the PGA Tour wants the Tour to succeed. Success is having a larger fan base.”
Homa reiterated that he ‘doesn’t know enough about the business.’ He said that his comments are from ‘fair assumption’ and underlined it was ‘hard for him to know 100%.’
Max Homa says he is ‘optimistic’ about the PGA Tour-SSG deal
Notably, Homa had earlier revealed that he was optimistic about the PGA Tour and Strategic Sports Group's $3 billion deal. The golfer fully backed Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan’s deal announcement on January 31. Following the official release, the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open winner expressed his optimism and said it would make the game "better for the fans."
Max Homa wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
"I know everyone is sick of hearing about how much more money golfers are getting. My optimism lies in the main point of this which is we now have very savvy and experienced stakeholders who have a lot of incentive to improve the product creatively and make it better for the fans."
With the comments, Max Homa joined the list of players, including Tiger Woods, who announced support for the investment deal.