What makes the Masters so untouchable among American sporting events? Restraint
The Masters is the greatest sporting event in America, and it's not because of tradition. The reason is restraint, restraint from growth and greed.
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The Masters is the greatest sporting event in America.
Not because of tradition and history. Not because it commands civility and good manners from those in attendance. Not because it bans cellphones entirely, liberating patrons from our pitiful addiction to social media brain rot.
The reason is restraint.
Every year, the Masters leaves upward of $300 million in media rights on the table. It receives zero domestic television revenue, instead giving the event to ESPN and CBS for free with one big caveat: it retains total control over the broadcast, the commentary and the commercials (only four minutes per hour, about 75% less than the other three golf major championships).
At a time when fan experience has mostly been reduced to lip service, the Masters jealously defends the type of golf tournament it wants to present – how it looks, how it sounds, how it feels and who gets in the front gates. And they’ve done a masterful job.
To wit:
The NCAA Tournament is currently considering bloated expansion to 76 teams, further diluting a field that is already weak around the edges. It’s a proposed change that nobody wants other than the profiteers.
The NBA is dealing with an existential crisis because its regular-season schedule is way too long, which has led to load management, player empowerment and a deep resentment of the sport among portions of the fan base. Tanking is out of control and so is the lack of competitive integrity. On Friday, the average margin of victory over nine NBA games was a staggering 24.4 points, an all-time high.
NBA owners know the answer is cutting at least 12 games off the schedule and eliminating back-to-back contests, but they can’t find the courage to leave money on the table.
The NFL continues to push the limits of human endurance. It sends its players on overseas flights in a clunky attempt at globalization. It is seeking an 18th regular season game, which will guarantee even more zombie football in the final month of the season. It pawned off 21 games to streaming services in 2025, including a playoff game. It is a league redefining greed, hellbent on converting every dollar of value.
Even Major League Baseball should shorten its season, allowing its players to start in early April and finish in mid-October.
In almost every case, money is an obstacle.
Professional sports leagues have rushed headfirst into legalized gambling and futures markets, despite the obvious risk of scandal. They are putting paywalls in front of their product at the expense of their most loyal customers. Growth is always the priority, and they can never leave well enough alone. They are incapable of restraint.
That’s why the Masters is still revered as a sacred place, a tournament that means as much to the patrons and the viewers as it does to the golfers.
The love affair is very real. Because it’s a tournament defined by green, and not just the color of money.
Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
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Comments
6 Comments
Golf is not in the top 10 sports in the world. Golf is not in the top 5 in America. "The greatest sporting event in America." Did Trump make you say that?
Oh, DB . . . The hyperbole in your first sentence is laughable. No, the Masters is NOT the "greatest sporting even in America" . . . Sorry. Ever since you dusted off your sticks and started hitting the links again, you've become talks way too much about his golf game guy; ugh. We've all been at a bar when these Delta Bravos roll-up, one with his hat on backwards, with their round of Michelob Ultras, loudly reliving every shot of the round, while the rest of us roll our eyes, wishing they'd shut the bleep up. Yes, the financial aspect of the Masters is great, and I respect that it's the crown jewel of the "sport" (or is golf a recreational activity-?), but the Super Bowl, Final Four, Stanley Cup, heck even Wimbledon, would like a word with you while you have your $2.50 pimento cheese sandwich.
Leave it to Bickley to celebrate a racist and sexist organization.