This summer, Jaylen Brown, of the Boston Celtics, signed the largest contract in NBA history: 280 million euros for five seasons, that is, 56 million per year. The announcement sparked a debate in the United States. If Brown, who is a very good player, but is not the star of his team, he earns so much money… How much will the renewal of Luka Doncic in 2025? Many analysts consider that the former Real Madrid player could be the first to overcome the barrier of 75 million euros per year and mark a milestone in sport. yankee.
Nobody in the NBA has earned that much, not even in the NFL or the MBL, the three leagues with the highest income from television rights above the Premier or LaLiga. Well then, Jon Rahm He will earn 525 million euros from the LIV Golf circuit, 105 million per year, double that of Jaylen Brown and more than Doncic negotiates whatever he negotiates. How is it possible?
Rahm’s contract with the semi-new golf competition responds to several reasons, but the first is blatant: it is not sustainable nor does it intend to be. The LIV Golf circuit is part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 project, led by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, which aims to promote the country to get rid of its dependence on oil. The cost does not matter. Neither does income. In 2022, its first season, the almost clandestine tournaments of the LIV circuit spent 1.4 billion from the Saudi Public Investment Fund and there was practically no return.
In the NBA, revenue is shared 50/50 between owners and players, so contracts grow at the same rate as the league’s economy. Something similar happens in the NFL or the MBL and even in European soccer thanks to financial fair play even though there are exceptions here. Firstly, because footballers take approximately 70% of their clubs’ income, more than LeBron James and company. And second, because the regulations are flexible, hence the latest agreement Leo Messi with Barcelona, 555 million for four years, as EL MUNDO revealed. In LIV Golf, in any case, there is no relationship of any kind between profits and salaries.
That contract signed by Messi and Joseph Maria Bartomeu In 2017 it holds the record of being the most expensive in the history of the sport, although Rahm’s recent pact with LIV Golf is already in second place. With the agreement between Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City for 420 million in fourth position – it was for 10 years, from 2020 to 2031 -, the third and fifth place are also the work of Saudi Arabia: the 500 million from Al-Nassr to Cristiano Ronaldo for two and a half seasons and the 400 million from Al-Ittihad to Karim Benzema for the courses.