Jay Monahan’s $23 million salary ranks highly among commissioners

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, who has received plenty of criticism over the past few years, earned more than $23 million in 2023, according to Sportico.

His 2023 base salary is only seven figures, officially listed as $1,887,096. But when considering bonuses, additional compensation, and non-cash benefits, his take-home pay inflates to $23 million, roughly $4.5 million more than he received in 2022.

Since then, Monahan has been at the forefront of the PGA Tour’s ongoing schism with LIV Golf, the circuit bankrolled by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). When LIV Golf launched in the early summer of 2022, the tour reacted by suspending those who defected indefinitely. Lawsuits between the two sides also emerged, as did questions about Saudi Arabia’s morality and its questionable history of human rights abuses.

While appearing next to Jim Nantz during the final round broadcast of the 2022 RBC Canadian Open, Monahan famously asked, “Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?” This, of course, referenced the Saudi Kingdom’s ties to the September 11th attacks, as 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens. Families of 9/11 victims, along with many others, consequently slammed players for joining LIV at the onset. Monahan leaned on those families for support and vice versa.

But one year later, on June 6, 2023, Monahan and a few other stakeholders from the PGA Tour announced a framework agreement with the PIF. This deal, settled in private, shocked the golfing world while angering many others. Both Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm admitted to feeling betrayed, while Rory Mcllroy confessed that he felt like a ‘sacrificial lamb.’ The deal made Monahan look like a ‘hypocrite,’ as sports fans far and wide could not understand how the PGA Tour’s chief executive could change his stance so quickly.

Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images

Facing tremendous scrutiny, Monahan then took a leave of absence during the summer of 2023, citing health issues. His medical leave coincided with a July 11, 2023, hearing on Capitol Hill, where a Senate subcommittee launched an investigation into this deal. The subcommittee’s chief concern was Saudi Arabia’s business ambitions within the United States. It also worried about its extensive record of subjugating its citizens, dissenting freedoms, and propagating conflicts within the Middle East.

Yet, despite all the backlash from Congress and beyond, the framework agreement between the tour and the PIF did not disintegrate. Instead, the two sides continue to work towards a concrete deal that will hopefully reunite PGA Tour and LIV golfers. But Monahan, the tour, and the PIF have held talks for the better part of 18 months now, with no clear solution on the horizon. Monahan has not given any concrete updates either, offering a word salad about the deal’s state of affairs at the Tour Championship in August.

Monahan then played golf with Yasir al-Rumayyan, the Governor of the PIF, in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October. However, no concrete report about the agreement emerged from that encounter.

Bloomberg recently reported that the PIF may strike a deal with the DP World Tour, but it is unclear how that would affect the pending negotiations with the PGA Tour.

Nevertheless, amid all this tension, the tour still generated $1.82 billion in earned revenue and $2.52 billion in non-inventory asset sales, thus yielding $4.33 billion in 2023.

For comparison’s sake, the NFL generated nearly $20.5 billion, according to Sportico. Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, took home $64 million in 2023 per Front Office Sports.

Major League Baseball’s Rob Manfried makes roughly $25 million after bonuses, making him and Goodell the only commissioners in American professional sports with a higher annual income than Monahan.

Meanwhile, Adam Silver and Gary Bettman, who oversee the NBA and NHL, make roughly $10 million annually, per Sportico.

However, the MLB, NBA, and NHL generated more earnings in 2023 than the PGA Tour.

Granted, these executives did not have to deal with a sovereign wealth fund threatening their league’s existence. But Monahan taking home over $23 million is quite an eye-opener compared to other salaries of those leading the four largest leagues in American sports.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.