Saudi Arabia has bought into soccer and golf. Will the NBA and NFL be next?

Earlier this week, golf’s civil war came to an abrupt end when the PGA Tour announced plans to merge commercial operations with its Saudi-funded arch-rival, LIV Golf.

The shock announcement marked the culmination of a year of disruption, player poaching and heated litigation. It also brought attention to Saudi Arabia’s growing ambitions in sports and raised the possibility that the kingdom will use its seemingly limitless resources to buy into US sporting behemoths such as the NFL and NBA.

While US professional sports are highly lucrative – the NFL alone generated $18bn in revenue last year and its most valuable team, the Dallas Cowboys are worth $8bn – the Saudis are not after short-term profits. Saudi Arabia’s agreement with the PGA Tour marks the latest in a series of high-profile investments aiming to transform a controversial kingdom marred with human rights abuses into a tantalizing hub for global sports and entertainment events. These investments are purportedly part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to reduce Saudi Arabia’s heavy dependence on oil by developing other industries.

Saudi Arabia already hosts a Formula One race, WWE shows, and the world’s richest horse race. The country’s sovereign wealth fund also financed the purchase of the Premier League’s Newcastle United, and is in the process of tempting high-profile footballers to join Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League – an effort that could be worth more than $1bn in wages for 20 foreign players.

And there are signs that the kingdom is expanding its sports empire in the US. According to documentation acquired by the Guardian in 2019, Saudi Arabia enlisted the services of an international consulting firm to lobby