SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Michael Smith reports Fermata Partners has "supplanted IMG as the PGA Tour’s trademark licensing agency, ending a 20-year commercial relationship between the tour and IMG." The company "takes over the tour’s global licensing business exclusively as part of a new long-term deal." IMG’s agreement with the Tour ended Dec. 31. Financial specifics of the deal were not released, but the Tour "characterized the new relationship as long-term and deeper than the previous arrangement with IMG." While the Tour "would not comment on deal structure," properties typically take 10% or so of the wholesale cost of a product, depending on the arrangement. Some of the rights that Fermata will have "weren’t part of IMG’s deal previously," including "tour-branded airport shops, PGA Tour grills and some of the tour’s private labels such as its fragrance, apparel, headwear, footwear, belts, wallets and socks." Fermata will "manage the marks for the PGA Tour brand, as well as other marks owned by the tour, ranging from the FedEx Cup and Presidents Cup to other tours in Latin America and Canada, the Champions Tour and Web.com Tour." Fermata also "will have the licensing rights to the tour-owned Players Championship and the 28 tour events in what the tour calls its Tournament Collection" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/25 issue).
POWER PLAY: In K.C., James Dornbrook reported locally based financial planning firm Empower Retirement "announced it signed a multiyear sponsorship agreement" with golfer Robert Streb. The sponsorship "includes promotion of the empower brand, which will appear on Streb's hat throughout the PGA Tour season, and various engagement opportunities with Empower clients and partners." Empower also "singed sponsorship agreements in July" with the Chiefs, Broncos and Patriots (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/22).
HANDS FULL: GOLF WORLD's Geoff Shackelford reports Hyundai's deal to sponsor the PGA Tour stop in L.A. at Riviera Country Club is "for 10 years" starting in '17. Meanwhile, the AP reported that Deutsche Bank "will not be renewing its title sponsorship" of the second FedExCup Playoffs event. Cadillac also is "not expected to renew" its sponsorship for the WGC event hosted at Trump National Doral in Florida. Finally, the PGA Tour event at Colonial "remains without a sponsor" for '16. If this is indeed PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem’s final year in his position, it is "going to be a busy one" (GOLFWORLDDIGITAL.com, 1/25).
