LIV Golf Looks Beyond Saudi Cash

Afternoon Edition

May 4, 2026

In the wake of losing its funding from the Saudi PIF, LIV Golf is looking elsewhere for financial support. On Monday the league announced that it retained U.S.-based Ducera Partners as its investment banking adviser “to guide the league in its efforts to secure long-term investment partners and support its evolution into a diversified, multi-partner investment model.”

—David Rumsey

First Up

The Mavericks announced they’re hiring former Raptors executive Masai Ujiri to be the team’s next president and alternate governor. Read the story.
The PGA Tour has two tournaments this week, one in Charlotte, N.C., and the other in Myrtle Beach, S.C. They couldn’t be more different from each other. Read the story.
The first round of the NHL playoffs ended Sunday—and it’s also likely the formal end for Main Street Sports Group. Read the story.
Sunday’s Inside the NBA—which included a graphic poking fun at Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini—shows ESPN is leaving the iconic studio show alone. Read the story.

LIV Turns to Investment Bank With Sports Ties As PIF Exit Looms

LIV Golf

LIV Golf is continuing its fight for survival by bringing in even more financial experts and advisers in the wake of losing its funding from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

LIV announced Monday morning that it had retained U.S.-based Ducera Partners as its investment banking adviser “to guide the league in its efforts to secure long-term investment partners and support its evolution into a diversified, multi-partner investment model.”

The league is seeking new investors as its sole backer, the PIF, prepares to exit following the 2026 season, which runs through August. The PIF’s total spend on LIV is expected to surpass $6 billion by the end of this year; the sovereign wealth fund provided the majority of capital for LIV’s operational budget and tournament prize money.

Ducera was founded in 2015 by longtime investment banker Michael Kramer, who has previously served as an adviser for some MLB and NHL franchise transactions, according to LIV’s announcement. Kramer is also the owner of the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks, which he purchased in 2021. Ducera says it has advised on more than $850 billion in transactions across industries, including media, entertainment, and sports.

The most recent sports deal Ducera worked on was serving as investment banker for Tom Dundon’s Pickleball Inc., which last week received a $225 million investment and now serves as the parent company of both the Professional Pickleball Association and Major League Pickleball. Apollo Sports Capital led the funding, and Dundon also contributed.

In the past year, Ducera has also advised on several multibillion-dollar company sales and bankruptcy restructuring processes outside of sports.

Kramer said in Monday’s announcement that Ducera sees “significant value” in what LIV has created. “We are focused on helping the league identify the right long-term partners to unlock that value and power its next phase,” Kramer said.

Financial Advice

LIV bringing on Ducera follows last week’s creation of a new independent board led by two corporate restructuring experts, Pirinate Consulting Group CEO Eugene Davis and Jon Zinman, the founder of consulting firm JZ Advisors.

Additionally, LIV has reportedly hired more restructuring experts at the consulting firm AlixPartners, according to Sky Sports. AlixPartners is based in New York, but it also has offices in Europe and the Middle East, among other international locations.

The league will be back in action this week for its LIV Golf Virginia event, which tees off Thursday at Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C.

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EXCLUSIVE

TV Reunion

Feb 23, 2013; Fort Collins, CO, USA; Colorado State Rams fans hold large cut outs of ESPN television personality Stephen A. Smith (left) and Skip Bayless (right) during the game against the New Mexico Lobos at Moby Arena. The Lobos defeated the Rams 91-82. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Skip Bayless will join Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take this Friday, Front Office Sports has learned. The reunion of the two former TV partners is described as a “one-time show.” It will be the first time Bayless and Smith have appeared together on ESPN’s top-rated morning show since June 2016. Read the story.

ONE BIG FIG

Derby Day Metrics

The field of horses leave the starting gate ahead of the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 2, 2026.

The Indianapolis Star

$487 million

The amount wagered during Kentucky Derby week, up 3% from $474 million in 2025. Handle for the Derby itself was $225 million, down 4% from last year. Derby Day attendance increased 2% versus last year to 150,000. In a stunning finish, Golden Tempo rallied to win the race at Churchill Downs racetrack, making Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner. The 2026 Derby drew 19.6 million viewers Saturday on NBC and Peacock, the most-watched edition of the race on record, according to Nielsen preliminary data and Adobe Analytics. The previous viewership high for the race was 18.5 million in 1989.

LOUD AND CLEAR

Regulating Prediction Markets

Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/ NurPhoto/Reuters

“No one should be subject to this sort of behavior just for showing up to work and performing their jobs, and the willingness of gamblers to direct their harassment at players’ family members, including children, is extremely troubling to say the least.”

—The players’ unions for the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS were among those that submitted input to the CFTC weighing in on how the federal agency should regulate prediction markets. The players’ unions focused on how players and their families are affected by the current culture of sports betting, pressing the CFTC to ensure that stadiums have “specific fan conduct policies” prohibiting harassment of players. Read the story.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS LIVE

Intersecting Capital and Competition

Sports has become one of the hottest investment opportunities in the global market. Franchise valuations are climbing to record highs; private equity is reshaping team ownership; athletes are evolving into institutional investors; and leagues are becoming platforms for global capital. Meanwhile, prediction markets are upending the incumbent sports betting giants.

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STATUS REPORT

One Up, Two Down, One Push

Jun 7, 2025; Paris, FR; Coco Gauff of the United States poses with the trophy after winning the women's singles final against Aryna Sabalenka on day 14 at Roland Garros Stadium.

Susan Mullane-Imagn Images

French Open ⬇ Even though the clay-court Grand Slam increased its prize money pool by about $6.2 million, a group of players on the ATP and WTA tours expressed “deep disappointment” in the tournament’s earnings, as they felt it wasn’t reflective of the revenue players were generating. In a statement Monday, signed by the likes of Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff, and Aryna Sabalenka, players claimed that their share of tournament revenue fell from 15.5% in 2024 to below 14.9% projected in 2026—well below the 22% they requested, which is what they get at combined ATP and WTA 1000 events.

PWHL ⬆⬇ The league, which is planning to expand ahead of the 2026–27 season, will reportedly move away from a traditional expansion draft and instead fill expansion rosters through four different signing windows—with the first one tentatively beginning May 28. According to PWHLPA executive director Malaika Underwood, the league “intends to move forward with a four-team expansion,” though nothing is finalized. If fewer than four teams get added, the roster-filling process could change.

NCAA lacrosse fans ⬇ The brackets for the NCAA men’s and women’s Division I lacrosse tournaments were shown on the NCAA website at least 45 minutes before they were supposed to be revealed in respective ESPNU Selection Shows. During the men’s selection show, ESPN’s Anish Shroff addressed the mishap, saying “we know you have the internet, but listen, the watch parties are still fun,” while also joking about an intern who posted a bracket early.

Nelly Korda ⬆ The LPGA’s world No. 1 has accumulated $2,843,718 in total earnings to kick off her 2026 season, after finishing no worse than second place in her past six competitions and winning three of them. Korda, 27, won the Riviera Maya Open this past weekend to clinch back-to-back tournament victories and win her 18th career title, becoming the youngest American in the LPGA to do the latter since Nancy Lopez in 1980.