📈Get That Money
I’m letting my finance bro show a little bit today, because not only will we be talking about money but we will be talking about golf.Â
If you aren’t into these sorts of things, the quick summary is that over the last year or so the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) started a golf league called LIV to battle against the incumbent PGA Tour in America. And as Americans, we are spoiled in the fact that most of the best athletes play in our respective leagues, NFL, NBA, MLB, etc. Golf was long included in this, where aside from the British Open (Open Championship for the golf hardos), most events and the other 3 major championships resided in the US.Â
But because the LIV was backed by the Saudi PIF and their *checks notes* $600 BILLION war chest, the PGA Tour had some real problems on its hands. Some players like Phil Mickelson got $200 million to leave the PGA Tour and join LIV. Considering he is one of the best players of all time, and his career golf earnings to that point were roughly half that. Phil and many other top players took that sweet sweet Saudi money and went to LIV.Â
While many players took this deal others, most notably Rory McIlroy turned down the money and backed the PGA Tour and its commissioner Jay Monahan. Since they didn’t have money on their side the PGA and Monahan went hard on the legacy and morality angle.Â
Invoking Saudi transgressions including the alleged killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and most notably 9/11 Monahan shamed golfers who took the money and promised the golfers that remained loyal they would benefit from being on the right side of history.Â
Uh, yea so I guess that Saudi PIF money was only bad when it was going to the players who weakened the value of the PGA Tour. Once they secured those players Monahan was happy to sell them straight back to the LIV tour making himself the CEO of the new for-profit company with a huge cash infusion. And those 9/11 families.
So to recap Monahan and the PGA ran a campaign to stop players from taking anywhere from $10 to $300 million dollars each using the moral high ground. And then went and sold out to the exact same people they railed against for a year. We have a word for that.Â
Now you are 400 words in and probably asking what this has to do with you, or personal finances in general.Â
The lesson here is best said by the poet Aubrey Graham.
While it is sad to say, at the end of the day companies don’t care about you. Even if you are in a player-led golf league with numerous superstars, some clown will sell you down the river if the money is there. So you have to look out for yourself.Â
For example, I recently had a friend in a salary negotiation and they were offered a promotion and a small raise. Meanwhile, they were taking on multiple new direct reports and had been operating in the new position without the title for a while already. Now they loved their company, and their job so they didn’t want to rock the boat but the raise was insignificant given the new role.
My advice was to ask for the world, way more money. And if their concern was the company getting offended, which yea it could happen. Maybe a 5% chance they are so offended you are viewed in a negative light or even worse fired.
But what happened was they were praised for advocating for themselves, got the promotion, and even got the ridiculous monetary offer they asked for.Â
What’s the Upside?
Don’t burn bridges but if you have a better offer at another company take it.Â
Don’t sacrifice too much for a company that wouldn’t do the same for you.
Always counter a raise with a bigger number, they already value you, kid. You deserve more!
For Your Weekend
Watch
The Gang Gets Inflated - It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia ($ Hulu)
Dennis and Mac get into inflatable furniture to deal with the economy's inflation; Dee tries to find a place to crash after being evicted by her greedy landlord; Charlie wants to pitch Frank his investment idea.
BEEF ($ Netflix)
In the era of bloated, this-should-have-been-a-movie streaming series (looking at you Ted Lasso, Season 3), BEEF stands out for how lean it is. At 10, ~35ish minute episodes, its total run time is just under 4 hours. And while there are a few draggy moments, the show hums along as the two main characters (played by Ali Wong at her barely-contained rage best and Steven Yuen, excellent as a sad sack contractor) spiral deeper into their quest to ruin each other’s lives. The last two episodes more than make up for any slack in the narrative the serialized format imposes on the action. Easily a top-5 show we’ve watched this year - highly recommend.