Browsing: ownership

These are boom times to be selling minority stakes in indoor golf franchises.

On Friday afternoon, the TGL announced that the LAGC will receive a new minority ownership stake from Ilitch Sports and Entertainment. The ownership group behind the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings will join an ownership group that includes Reddit founder and majority owner Alexis Ohanian and a deep bench of minority owners including Serena and Venus Williams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Alex Morgan, Michelle Wie West, Shonda Rhimes and Good Good Golf.

Financial terms of the agreement were not released, but several fascinating components of Ilitch’s investment in the TGL were announced. As part of Ilitch’s investment in the LAGC, IS+E will “serve as LAGC’s sponsorship agency of record and act as an extension of LAGC’s internal team” — a move that effectively multiplies the sales efforts of the LAGC franchise as its second season readies to begin in January.

The decision will allow IS+E to “leverage its network and expertise in sponsorship sales, brand development, data analytics, broadcasting and media” to help the LAGC brand grow.

TGL made offseason changes — everything is bigger and better

By:

Sean Zak

The Ilitch family’s investment in LAGC comes at an interesting time for the TGL, which will begin its second season at the Sofi Center in Palm Beach Gardens in January. The indoor simulator golf league debuted to surprisingly strong TV numbers on ESPN in 2024, bringing golf to primetime weeknights in concert with the bulk of the PGA Tour season. Last week, the league announced a slew of changes aimed at improving the league’s competitive product in year two, including dramatically expanding the size and shape of the putting green.

The announcement also comes at an interesting time for the Illitches. The Illitch family investment in the TGL is notable for who it is notpairing with: Motor City G.C., owned by the Ford Family, also known as the longtime stewards of the othermajor Detroit sports organization, the Lions.

In addition to owning and operating the fast food chain Little Caesars, the Illitches maintain majority stakes in both the Tigers and Red Wings, and operate the majority of their businesses out of Detroit. They are believed to have a strong relationship with the Fords, including in their shared funding of a downtown arena district at the turn of the century.

“LAGC is reimagining how fans experience golf,” Ryan Gustafson, the president and CEO of Illitch Sports and Entertainment said in a release. “Joining LAGC puts us at the center of that transformation.”

The Tennessee Titans announced Monday they fired Brian Callahan, but he reportedly won’t be the only head coach to meet such a fate.

NFL insider Josina Anderson cited a source Monday who said the expectation is five NFL teams will make head coaching changes. The Titans were included in that number, although Anderson also pointed out “one of said teams has a star player expressing frustration to ownership.”

There were no specific details given about which teams could be looking to make a move, yet she did note one could be unexpected.

Frankly, it would be more surprising if someone expected there not to be additional coaching changes in the NFL. That’s just the nature of the business, and plenty of teams move on from their coaches after disappointing seasons every single year.

The current one will surely be no different.

Seven teams fired their head coaches after the 2024 campaign, and the Titans are the first of what will surely be plenty more this year. Seven was actually a step down from the eight coaches who were fired after the 2023 season.

For now, fans can speculate about which moves are coming, and one look at the standings usually gives a fairly good clue as to which teams will be involved in the coaching carousel.

There has been no shortage of speculation about Mike McDaniel’s status as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins amid their 1-5 start. And additional rumors will continue to emerge as teams struggle down the stretch.

As for the Titans, it isn’t surprising they decided to make this move. Callahan was just 4-19 as the head coach, and any doubt about whether he was the one to maximize Cam Ward’s chances of success after the franchise selected the quarterback with the No. 1 pick of the 2025 draft was going to work against him.

Fortunately for Callahan, there will be plenty of job openings around the league again at the end of the 2025 season.

Because there almost always are.

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