Brian Rolapp, a potential successor to Roger Goodell, leaving NFL to become PGA Tour CEO
Rolapp is leaving his position as an NFL executive vice president to become the next PGA Tour CEO, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and Seth Wickersham. Rolapp is expected to lead the Tour.
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Rolapp has been with the NFL for 22 years, and was widely believed to be a potential successor to commissioner Roger Goodell whenever he leaves his post.
Goodell sent a memo to all team executives and presidents to notify them of Rolapp's departure on Thursday. The Tour has not confirmed the news, which came in the middle of the opening round of the U.S. Open. That major championship is run by the United States Golf Association and is separate from the PGA Tour.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has held his post as the Tour's commissioner since 2017, when he replaced longtime commissioner Tim Finchem. Monahan is just the fourth commissioner in the Tour's history. He stepped away briefly from his post in 2023 due to an undisclosed health issue, which came just a week after his announcement that the Tour was entering negotiations to join forces with LIV Golf — something that drew an immense amount of criticism from both inside the Tour and out.
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Monahan and the Tour are still in negotiations with LIV Golf, which came after years of turmoil in the sport and Monahan's strong condemnation of the Saudi Arabian-backed league. It's unclear if such a deal will get done, however, as the two sides are well past their self-imposed deadline.
The Tour announced last year that it would begin looking for a new CEO to work alongside Monahan, and that the job would be tasked with growing the commercial side of the business. The CEO role will report directly to both the PGA Tour's Policy Board and the Board of Directors for PGA Tour Enterprises, which is the new for-profit arm the Tour has launched in an effort to compete with LIV Golf. PGA Tour Enterprises received an initial investment of $1.5 billion from the Strategic Sports Group to get off the ground.
'This is a signal that we're on the right track,' Tour chief marketing and communications officer Andy Weitz said in December of the new CEO position, via the Golf Channel. 'This is another example of making sure we have the right people in the right roles. To come together and really create some exciting experiences for fans in 2025 and beyond.'
While Rolapp's role will include the PGA Tour Enterprises side of things, it is not expected to be limited to the for-profit entity.
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