On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including a wild few days for the global economy.
The fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump’s growing trade wars continued earlier in the week, with stock markets, bond markets and treasury yields all indicating fear from investors large and small. Then, on Wednesday afternoon, Trump announced a 90-day pause for most of the new tariffs. The stock markets surged in response.
The hosts talk about how that uncertainty has affected sports. At a private event in South Carolina, Citadel founder Ken Griffin encouraged billionaire team owners to express their displeasure about the new tariffs. “This is a chance for them to speak out on the importance of thoughtful economic policies that protect the interests of the American people and yet ensure that America is loved by the world, because that’s our market for American entertainment,” he told Sportico.
Is sports recession-proof? Valuations have been relatively unaffected in prior downturns, including the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. The hosts discuss what maybe makes this different, and how fans’ discretionary spending might be the most important metric to watch.
Next they talk about the highest paid golfers on the eve of the Masters. Jon Rahm topped the list in 2024 at $105.8 million, a total that includes prize winnings and endorsements. Rahm is a LIV Golf athlete. The next five names—Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa—are all PGA Tour golfers.
Rahm said earlier this week that the long-discussed LIV-PGA commercial joint venture wasn’t likely in the near-term. The hosts talk about what that might mean for the sport, and how incentives for both Saudi-backed LIV and the PGA may be shifting.
They close by talking about a story Sportico broke earlier this week. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have asked the Department of Justice to look into whether a new tie-up between Fanatics and Ticketmaster violated antitrust laws. Ticketmaster, already in the DOJ’s crosshairs, says it does not.
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