Apart from the mysterious drop in TV ratings in 2024, the PGA Tour has never really had issues with its viewership. Every event is able to generate over a million viewers consistently. That’s able to help the Tour continue its sustainable business model. However, Brian Rolapp believes the media landscape will experience an interesting shift in the near future.

As Josh Carpenter from Sports Business Journal reported, “Pretty insightful from Rolapp on CNBC this morning. Asked about his biggest downside surprise since taking the job and starts talking about the media rights market. Notes the U.S. market is at $30B and the NFL takes up $12, a number that likely will increase substantially in its new deal. Seems to be inferring the tour will be potentially getting less than its current $7B.”

Rolapp explained in the interview that the American sports market is worth $30 billion in media rights. The NFL, which is the leading sport in the country, takes up $12 billion of it. That’s 40% of the total market. As far as golf goes, it is worth $7 billion in the current market. The NBA has a 10-13% hold in the market with an approximate valuation of $4 billion.

While golf is the second most dominant sport in the category, the valuations may see a major shift in the near future. The NFL’s current media deal runs through to the 2033-2034 season. However, they do have the option to opt out of it in 2029. Hence, they have already started looking for a new deal. In fact, they are planning to conclude the negotiations over it as early as September 2026.

Their goal is to double their valuation, which would take them between $20 billion and $24 billion. While it bodes well for the sports media industry in the United States, golf won’t benefit from the new negotiations. The sector’s valuation won’t increase drastically, as Rolapp expects to see a rise of 1-2%. However, if the NFL finds the deal they desire, then the PGA Tour and the NBA might have to pay the price for it.

But Rolapp is still optimistic about the growth of the PGA Tour. He believes they can survive the shift.

Brian Rolapp still has faith in the PGA Tour’s appeal despite the imminent threat

As far as the sports media industry goes, Brian Rolapp has complete faith in its growth. He believes it’s much stronger than many other media industries, including entertainment. And while the NBA might take the spotlight away from the PGA Tour, he still thinks they can sustain in the market.

Rolapp had a very positive response on the position of the PGA Tour at present: “How do we strengthen the PGA Tour? I think it’s really strong. I think it’s growing. But it can be stronger. And anybody who’s in the sports business, if they’re not looking at their product trying to figure out ‘How do I make it more appealing to my core fans but also how do I grow new fans?’ They’re not in a good spot.”

With the strategy Rolapp has proposed for 2027, it does seem that they are focused on growth. While they may be planning to reduce the number of events, they are increasing the field size for Signature tournaments to increase opportunities within the Tour. Moreover, the CEO also proposed a schedule that avoids competing with the Super Bowl. With a new NFL deal on the horizon, that may have been a tactically sound choice.