In 2023, the Saudis dove further into sports. They are expected to keep it up in 2024

At the dawn of 2023, the specter of Saudi Arabia’s growing influence on pro golf — and sports in general — served not only as a moral conundrum for players and their fans, but also, some argued, as an existential threat to the multibillion-dollar profe...

At the dawn of 2023, the specter of Saudi Arabia’s growing influence on pro golf — and sports in general — served not only as a moral conundrum for players and their fans, but also, some argued, as an existential threat to the multibillion-dollar professional-sports industry itself.

Twelve months later, it's a different conversation, now virtually devoid of concern about the supposed menace of “sportswashing” and the line between “right” and “wrong,” and more fixed on just how rich the Saudis might make all these athletes before they’re done investing.

Two major events sparked the change: The June 6 announcement that the PGA Tour was looking to go into business with the very Saudi group that was paying for the kingdom's LIV Golf, which the tour had labeled as a threat. Then, six months later, the decision by the world’s third-ranked player and an early resister of LIV, Jon Rahm, to move to that league for a contract reported in the neighborhood of $500 million.

Making less-dramatic but almost equally important headlines were the continuing talks between the Saudis and leaders in pro tennis — and Saudi Arabia’s ongoing push into global soccer, reflected most vividly by a decision that smoothed the way for the Saudis to host the sport’s biggest event, the World Cup, in 2034.

“You’re investing in sports, which is one of the few growth industries in the world,” Dan Durbin, director of the Institute of Sports, Media and Society at USC, said of the Saudi strategy. “It is, as far as we can see, an almost endless growth industry.”