In the hours after he was named the PGA Tour’s first CEO on Tuesday, Brian Rolapp walked around the driving range at TPC River Highlands. Dressed in a grey suit, the former NFL chief media and business officer introduced himself to as many players as he could, marking the start of a seismic shift in the PGA Tour’s leadership structure.

Though Rolapp hasn’t had the time to meet nearly everyone—including World Nos. 1 and 2 Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy—he will in the coming weeks as he begins to take over day-to-day duties from PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan later this summer. In the early days, Rolapp has already received praise from several notable tour pros. Ahead of the opening round of the Travelers Championship on Thursday, Scheffler, McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Keegan Bradley all expressed excitement over his hire when speaking with the media. Among the things that’ve stood out to four of the tour’s brightest stars: Rolapp has an impressive background, and he’s said all the right things.

“I think he seems like a steal from the most successful sports organisation in the world and someone who was on the path to becoming potentially commissioner over there, to coming over and taking the PGA Tour forward,” said Spieth, who met Rolapp on Tuesday.

Having spent the last 22 years with the NFL, Rolapp was seen by some as a potential successor to Roger Goodell whenever his tenure as commissioner ended. However, he said at his press conference on Tuesday that he couldn’t turn down the PGA Tour’s “unique” opportunity.

Despite Rolapp’s impressive background, he has limited golf experience; he said he plays around eight to 10 rounds a year and wouldn’t disclose his handicap. When Scheffler was asked whether tour membership is on board with bringing someone from outside of the golf world in, he didn’t express that it was a negative.

“I liked what I got to hear yesterday, so I would assume that’s pretty much the opinion of most people in the room,” Scheffler said. “There definitely wasn’t anybody grumbling or shouting or anything like that, so it seemed like all good news.”

Even without golf experience, Spieth mentioned Rolapp brings a wealth of experience to the Tour. And alongside it, the three-time major winner added Rolapp is “super open to learning more about golf and the PGA Tour’s business and the product itself from those that know more about it until he gets caught up.”

What Rolapp is fully caught up on has McIlory excited. The career Grand Slam winner noted Rolapp helped the NFL “expand internationally and basically become the behemoth that they have become.” This prompted McIlory to give Rolapp a huge vote of confidence, saying it’s amazing he’ll bring that experience to the PGA Tour. Rolapp’s signature achievement with the NFL is launching Thursday Night Football, which he championed from its 2006 launch.

Additionally, McIlory said it was great that Monahan will be there to help smooth out the transition period. Monahan is slated to remain in his role through the end of 2026 before stepping away and letting Rolapp run the show.

“I think it’s a really positive thing for the tour,” McIlory said of Rolapp stepping in as CEO.

As the tour continues to strive in expanding its global outreach, Spieth noted that Rolapp resonated with players regarding challenging the television networks in how they show the product. Meanwhile, Spieth said Rolapp noted he was “open and willing to adapt and change while maintaining the integrity of the game.”

Bradley, the current U.S. Ryder Cup captain, also met Rolapp on Tuesday. Paired with highlighting his incredible résumé, Bradley said Rolapp “seems like a really smart guy.” And just a short time after he felt uncertain about the PGA Tour’s future, he expressed he had the utmost confidence going forward.

“I just think the PGA Tour is in such a great spot,” Bradley said. “A handful of years ago, when all this started, I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was nervous. I didn’t know how this was all going to end up, but now, years later, I’m really confident in where the PGA Tour is and where it’s going. I’m proud to play on this Tour.

“It’s never been better than it has been right now. That was a worry, and now I’m even more excited about the future. It’s going to be great.”

As he continues acclimating to the role, it’ll take more than walking around and having brief conversations in a grey suit to grow the PGA Tour and keep its players happy. But with some of the tour’s most influential figures already speaking highly of him, Rolapp’s tenure is off to a hot start.

MORE: Jay Monahan moving out, an NFL executive moving in, Tiger Woods the new commish?

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Who is Brian Rolapp?

Rolapp, 52, is a seasoned NFL executive whose two-decade tenure with America’s most powerful sports league has made him one of the most influential figures in sports business. Since 2014, he has served as the NFL’s chief media and business officer, wielding enormous influence over the league’s commercial empire, broadcast partnerships, and digital strategy. His fingerprints are on virtually every major media contract the league has signed in the past decade, including groundbreaking agreements with tech giants like Amazon and Netflix that have redefined sports broadcasting.

Does Rolapp have any golf experience?

In a word: no. And that might be putting it generously. While Rolapp says he worked in high school at Congressional Country Club—one of the most prestigious courses in the Washington, D.C. area—that teenage summer job hardly constitutes meaningful golf industry experience. His golf credentials are so thin that online investigators quickly discovered he doesn’t even maintain a handicap in the USGA’s GHIN system, the standard database used by serious golfers to track their scoring history. When pressed about his playing experience, Rolapp sheepishly admitted he manages to squeeze in “up to 10 rounds a year”—a frequency that puts him somewhere between casual weekend warrior and complete outsider. For an industry that prides itself on deep institutional knowledge and respect for the game’s traditions, Rolapp’s golf résumé is virtually nonexistent.

Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA Tour

Why Rolapp?

The answer requires understanding both sides of a calculated career move. For Rolapp, timing was everything. NFL industry insiders have long whispered about his commissioner potential, viewing him as a natural successor to Roger Goodell when the longtime NFL chief eventually steps down. The two executives are considered close allies within league offices, according to sources familiar with their relationship. But Goodell’s contract runs through 2027, and he’s widely expected to secure yet another extension. For an ambitious executive like Rolapp, the math was simple: If he wanted to run his own major sports league, his window at the NFL was rapidly closing.

From the PGA Tour’s perspective, Rolapp represents exactly what they believe they need—a proven dealmaker with an almost mythical reputation in sports business circles. His track record speaks volumes: nearly $100 billion in deals and partnerships orchestrated during his NFL tenure, including the media contracts that have transformed the league into a content juggernaut. His recent agreements with Amazon Prime Video and Netflix fundamentally altered how sports content reaches consumers in the streaming era.

Rolapp’s signature achievement remains Thursday Night Football, which he championed from its 2006 launch. While NFL purists regularly criticise these midweek games for subpar play quality—players have less recovery time, and the contests often feel sluggish—the financial returns have been extraordinary. Sports business insiders point to the move as classic Rolapp: prioritising business innovation over traditional thinking, even when it ruffles feathers among traditionalists.

This expertise couldn’t be more relevant to the PGA Tour’s current challenges. Though their domestic media rights deal doesn’t expire until 2030, negotiations for contracts of this magnitude typically begin years in advance. Having someone who has successfully navigated the complex world of sports media rights—and who understands how to maximise value across multiple platforms—was among Rolapp’s most compelling selling points.

Perhaps counterintuitively, Rolapp’s lack of golf industry experience may actually be his greatest asset. While players, media and fans might naturally feel hesitant about an outsider taking control, tour leadership believes that after decades of institutional inertia, radical outside-the-box thinking is exactly what professional golf needs. Sometimes it takes someone unencumbered by “the way things have always been done” to see solutions that insiders have missed. Rolapp is expected to begin implementing that fresh perspective when he officially starts later this summer.

Who else was considered?

Depends who you ask. The search process reveals as much about the PGA Tour’s priorities as the final selection itself. According to multiple sources, Rolapp emerged as the clear frontrunner months before the official announcement, with his candidacy gaining momentum as the process unfolded. Several powerful voices within the Strategic Sports Group—the private equity consortium that invested $1.5 billion in PGA Tour Enterprises—reportedly viewed Rolapp not just as the best option, but as the only viable choice for the role.

The competition, while notable, never posed a serious threat to Rolapp’s ascension, as some of these candidates weren’t necessarily considered as much as they tried to convince the tour to be considered. NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps represented the most credible alternative, bringing his own track record of modernising a traditional motorsports organisation and navigating complex media partnerships. TaylorMade President and CEO David Abeles also was named in some reports to varying degrees of interest. Beyond these confirmed contenders, sources suggest several other executives either threw their hats in the ring or were quietly approached, but didn’t make it past the exploration stage.

What is Rolapp facing?

Nothing much—just the small task of healing a fractured sport that has defied resolution at the highest levels of power. When the President of the United States confidently promised to fix professional golf’s civil war within 15 minutes, only to see that White House meeting spectacularly backfire and derail negotiations entirely, it became clear that this puzzle might be unsolvable. Rolapp declined to comment Tuesday about the LIV Golf-PGA Tour schism, but it looms as his most daunting challenge.

The mathematics of the conflict reveal the complexity Rolapp inherits. PGA Tour officials have long believed that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would eventually tire of hemorrhaging money on what they view as an entertainment venture failing by every conventional business metric. Their hope? If the tour could somehow extract marquee names like Bryson DeChambeau or Jon Rahm from LIV’s roster, perhaps the moment would arrive to call LIV Golf’s existential bluff and force a resolution. But this strategy represents an enormous gamble built on a fundamental misunderstanding of their opponent. The Saudi kingdom operates with unlimited funds and entirely different motivations than traditional sports businesses. Under the leadership at LIV of Yasir Al-Rumayyan, making money isn’t the point—establishing diplomatic relationships and soft-power influence is. While Rolapp may be new to these particular negotiations, key figures like Tiger Woods remain adamantly opposed to surrendering to what they consider an inferior product, setting up a potential clash between pragmatism and principle.

LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan playing in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2023. Richard Heathcote

Even if the LIV situation magically resolved itself tomorrow, Rolapp would still face a mountain of domestic crises. The Strategic Sports Group’s $1.5 billion investment sits largely untouched as of spring 2025, waiting for a coherent spending strategy. The tour’s two-tiered signature event system has created dissatisfaction among both players and tournament sponsors, who feel the new structure has disrupted traditional relationships and competitive balance. Financial pressures compound these structural problems. Rising sponsorship costs are forcing companies to reconsider their golf investments, particularly as increased purses have squeezed charitable donations—long a selling point for corporate partners. The sport’s chronic pace-of-play problem reached again has been a focus, with rounds routinely stretching beyond five hours and testing viewer patience.

Perhaps most troubling for long-term viability, professional golf continues its struggle to attract younger audiences. In an era where YouTube influencers can command massive followings and generate instant engagement, traditional golf broadcasts feel increasingly antiquated. While television ratings have stabilized, the sport still battles a public perception problem stemming from the greed and self-interest displayed during the LIV-Tour battle—a reputational crisis that has alienated casual fans and reinforced golf’s image as an elitist pursuit disconnected from mainstream sports culture.

Wait, why is Jay Monahan staying on for another 18 months?

Well, it is unusual, and a source of some consternation among tour player text threads Tuesday morning. The official explanation centers on considerations and unfinished business.

Monahan’s contract runs through the end of 2026, providing a convenient timeline for the transition. Tour officials also point to the steep learning curve Rolapp faces—stepping into professional golf from the NFL requires mastering an entirely different ecosystem of stakeholders, from equipment manufacturers to course owners to international golf federations. The complexity of the PGA Tour’s operations, they argue, demands a gradual handoff rather than an abrupt changing of the guard. More significantly, Monahan has made it clear he wants to see the framework agreement with PIF reach some form of resolution before departing. Whether that means completing a deal that unifies professional golf or both sides officially walking away from negotiations, Monahan appears determined to shepherd this defining issue to a conclusion rather than leaving it for his successor to inherit.

However, multiple sources suggest the reality may be quite different from the public narrative. One source familiar with the transition planning indicated that Monahan’s role is expected to become “relatively ceremonial” almost immediately, with Rolapp wielding the real decision-making authority. This arrangement would allow Monahan to save face while effectively sidelining him from substantive operations.

There’s also speculation that Monahan could step aside well before his contract expires if a buyout package can be negotiated. Given the player frustration already evident in private communications and the awkwardness of the dual-leadership structure, an early exit might benefit all parties involved. The question isn’t whether Monahan will serve the full 18 months, but rather how quickly the tour can engineer a graceful early departure that satisfies his contractual obligations while allowing Rolapp to operate without confusion about who’s actually in charge.

So does the CEO position replace the commissioner?

Yes and no—and this nuanced structure represents one of the most significant aspects of the leadership overhaul that sources say has been misunderstood in early reporting.

Rolapp will assume control of all business operations, essentially taking over the commercial responsibilities that currently define Monahan’s role. But rather than eliminating the commissioner position entirely, the PGA Tour plans to maintain it with a different focus: overseeing competition, rules and player relations exclusively.

This split reflects a reality the tour can no longer ignore—the deep reservoir of distrust that has poisoned relationships between leadership and the membership. Players remain upset about how the organization handled the initial LIV Golf threat and feel betrayed by the surprise June 6, 2023 framework agreement announcement, which blindsided them despite their public loyalty during the sport’s civil war. The commissioner role, in this new structure, will serve as a crucial bridge between Rolapp’s business operations and an increasingly skeptical player base.

The position will almost certainly be filled by a former player—someone who can speak the language of competition and understands the unique pressures of professional tournament golf. It’s a tacit acknowledgment that the tour needs credibility with its own membership that an outsider like Rolapp, regardless of his business acumen, simply cannot provide.

Any chance Tiger Woods would be the new commissioner?

Don’t hold your breath. While Woods played a key role in selecting Rolapp and clearly enjoys wielding influence in tour governance, multiple factors make his appointment unlikely. There’s legitimate concern within tour circles that having Woods in the commissioner role could overshadow Rolapp entirely—imagine the media dynamics when Woods disagrees with the CEO on any significant issue. Woods’ star power could inadvertently undermine the very leadership structure the tour is trying to establish.

Andrew Redington

More practically, sources familiar with Woods’ thinking say he simply lacks the appetite for the grinding, day-to-day responsibilities that come with the commissioner role. While he relishes strategic decision-making and high-level policy discussions, Woods has little interest in the public-facing obligations, media commitments and administrative duties that would consume a full-time commissioner. His current advisory role allows him to influence without the bureaucratic burden.

The speculation instead centres on several more realistic candidates. Joe Ogilvie, the former tour player who was appointed as a player director liaison during the LIV crisis, has never hidden his commissioner ambitions and possesses both the competitive credibility and political skills the role demands. Multiple star players have privately advocated for Brandt Snedeker, whose intelligence and communication skills make him a natural fit—though he’s not ready to retire from competition and is committed to captaining next year’s Presidents Cup team.

The full-time nature of the position effectively eliminates anyone still harbouring playing ambitions, narrowing the field considerably. Davis Love III represents another intriguing possibility, bringing decades of tour experience, natural leadership qualities, and the respect of multiple player generations. The successful candidate will need to balance competing interests while rebuilding trust—a diplomatic challenge that may prove more difficult than negotiating with the Saudis.

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“I’m very excited for this opportunity,” Rolapp said. “I’m very honoured and humbled by this opportunity. I’m excited to grow the PGA Tour. I’m excited about the future of golf.”

Rolapp, 52, joins the tour after spending more than two decades with the NFL, serving most recently as the league’s Chief Media and Business Officer. Before that, the graduate of BYU and Harvard Business School served as director of business development for NBC Universal.

“I’m honoured to step into the role of CEO of the PGA Tour,” Rolapp wrote in an open letter Tuesday morning. “Golf has one of the deepest histories and many of the most timeless traditions in all of sports. That history and those traditions have inspired generations of players and fans, creating both a game and a tour that millions around the world love. At the same time, professional golf is evolving, as are the ways fans consume sports. My goal as CEO is to honour golf’s traditions but not be overly bound by them.”

With Rolapp’s hiring, the tour also announced that Commissioner Jay Monahan will transition his day-to-day responsibilities to Rolapp, stepping down from the commissioner role when his contract runs out at the end of 2026. It was Monahan who announced the creation of the new CEO position back in December.

“A year ago, I informed our Boards that upon completing a decade as Commissioner, I would step down from my role at the end of 2026,” Monahan said. “Since then, we’ve worked together to identify a leader who can build on our momentum and develop a process that ensures a smooth transition. We’ve found exactly the right leader in Brian Rolapp, and I’m excited to support him as he transitions from the NFL into his new role leading the PGA Tour.”

Rolapp had been thought by many to be the frontrunner as Roger Goodell’s eventual replacement as NFL commissioner. But he couldn’t turn down what he called a “unique” opportunity. And he plans to use some of the same strategies put in place by the world’s most successful sports league.

“I think there’s three things, as I’ve mentioned before, that we can take from the NFL that I think applies to golf,” Rolapp said. “One is you sort of relentlessly focus on the game, getting the competition right, getting the highest level of competition is extremely important. That’s something we obsessed about. I think, second, finding the right partners. That’s not only sponsors, but media partners who could help grow the game, distribute the game, reach as many fans as possible. That’s something we’ll look at. And I think third is a constant mindset of innovation. You have to change. I think I said it in my fan letter, we’re going to honour tradition, but we’re not going to be unnecessarily bound by it, and where it makes sense to change, we’re going to do that. I think that’s something to take from my previous experience that I’m excited to apply here.”

Rolapp didn’t have much to say about the ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Saudi PIF other than mentioning he comes to the table with a “clean sheet.” He acknowledged the Strategic Sports Group’s $1.5 billion investment in the tour played a role in him taking the job. And he emphasised the tour will look to innovate and build on the signature events like this week’s Travelers Championship.

“I think when you look at golf specifically, it is truly a global sport,” Rolapp said. “I think the participation in the game has increased. It’s been increasing since COVID significantly. People love the sport, and they play the sport. That’s unique. I think that translates to all sorts of opportunity in the long-term. You look at the strength and the television ratings that I see, that people love the PGA Tour, they love the competition, especially when the best players are in the field. I think those are all strengths to build on.”

Rolapp was the unanimous selection of a PGA Tour CEO Search Committee formed in December and consisting of Arthur M. Blank, Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Monahan, Joe Gorder and Sam Kennedy. His experience at the NFL helping reshape how fans experience live sports was seen as one of his greatest strengths in coming over to the PGA Tour.

As CEO, Rolapp is expected to lead the PGA Tour into its next phase of growth and innovation, serving as the CEO of PGA Tour, Inc. and PGA Tour Enterprises, the new for-profit arm of the tour formed in 2024. The PGA Tour management team will report to Rolapp upon his start date later this summer, and he will report to both Boards of Directors.

“Having worked with Brian during our time in the NFL, I’ve seen firsthand his ability to lead with vision and collaboration, and to deliver results,” said Blank, the head of the search committee as well as the owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. “He understands what it takes to elevate a global sports brand—and I’m confident he’ll bring that same energy and excellence to the PGA Tour.”

Even Lucas Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champ who at times has been very vocal in his criticism of the PGA Tour Player Advisory Council in recent years, was very pleased with Rolapp’s selection. He told Golf Channel that it was a “monumental day” for the tour and described Rolapp as a “go-getter” and “very impressive.”

When news of Rolapp’s hiring first leaked last week, there were some who questioned why someone taking such an important role in golf wouldn’t have a USGA handicap. But Rolapp was happy to provide details of his golf background when asked on Tuesday, including that his first job in high school was at Congressional Country Club.

“That’s where I got gas money. So that’s how I was actually introduced to the game, on employee day actually learning to play golf,” Rolapp said. “In high school I skipped quite a bit of classes in college playing, and then career and family started, and I took a long time off from the game because my career, my family got in the way in a bit, but I’ve taken it up in recent years ago.”

Rolapp estimates he plays about five to 10 times per year—“Not as much as I would like to”—enjoying quality time on the course with his kids.

As for that handicap?

“I’m not going to tell you,” he said with a laugh. “It’s going to be classified. There’s a reason I didn’t put it in.”

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