NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus was awarded $50 million by a Florida jury after suing the Nicklaus Companies, his former company funded by billionaire Howard Milstein, for defamation.
The 18-time major champion sued the company after it claimed Nicklaus was considering a $750 million deal to join LIV Golf and was no longer mentally capable of managing his business affairs.
Nicklaus met with the Saudis in 2021 but said he had turned down offers twice, according to Sports Illustrated.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Jack Nicklaus speaks with his attorneys during a break in closing arguments in Judge Reid P. Scott II’s courtroom at the Judge Daniel TK Hurley Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida on October 20, 2025. (THOMAS CORDY/PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
“I was offered something in excess of $100 million by the Saudis to do work that is probably similar to what Greg is doing,” Nicklaus said at the time. “I turned it down. Once verbally, once in writing. I said, ‘Guys, I’ve got to stay with the PGA Tour.’ I helped start the PGA Tour.'”
The lawsuit said Nicklaus “had no interest in the offer and declined because he felt the PGA Tour was an important part of his legacy and if the PGA was not in favor of a new league, he did not want to be involved,” according to ESPN.
Jack Nicklaus speaks to the media prior to the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2024 in Dublin, Ohio. (Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
GOLF LEGEND PHIL MICKELSON TAKES SUBTLE JAB AT BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IN ‘NO KINGS’ DAY POST
“These are the people who planted a story,” Nicklaus’ attorney, Eugene Stearns, said in his closing argument, via the Palm Beach Post. “The story is a lie … What they wanted to create in the public’s mind is Jack Nicklaus is an old guy who sold out to the Saudis.”
The Palm Beach Post said the jury found the defendants spread false information that damaged Nicklaus’ reputation, leading to “scorn, hatred, mistrust, mistrust or contempt.”
“It’s always difficult in a defamation case to prove damage to reputation, because especially for a guy like Jack, it’s always so good,” Stearns added in a comment to ESPN. “But I think the important thing was the controversy that arose 3½ years ago when the company told the world that Jack sold out of the PGA Tour to Saudi golf, when that was not true. So we are glad that Jack has been vindicated.”
Jack Nicklaus stands on the 18th hole during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. (Aaron Doster/Imagn Images)
Nicklaus, 85, is widely regarded as one of, and perhaps the greatest, golfers of all time, having won a total of 73 events. His 18 majors are the most ever – three more than Tiger Woods, who is tied with Sam Snead for most PGA wins with 82.
Nicklaus’ last major was the 1986 Masters, which he won 24 years after his first.
