YEAR after year the value of professional sports contracts and prize purses set new high watermarks but this year the offerings have gone above and beyond the WOW factor.

The customary, annual leapfrogging of off-season contracts are par for the course in professional European club football (soccer), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Basketball Association (NBA), the emergence of Saudi Arabia in the mix has pushed the offerings to dizzying heights.

Earlier this week it was made public that the Los Angeles Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert inked a five-year, US$262.5 million deal (US$52.5 million per year) to make him the highest-salaried player in the NFL. Then, before that could sink in, it was reported that the Boston Celtics and Jaylen Brown have agreed on a five-year, US$304-million ($60.8 million per year), fully guaranteed supermax extension — the richest-ever deal in NBA history. Of course this follows on the very lucrative signing of Lionel Messi by Major League Soccer (MLS) team Inter Miami, reportedly worth up to US$150 million over two and a half years, with additional compensation from MLS partners Adidas and Apple.

For the sake of comparison, Messi’s reported annual salary of US$60 million far surpasses the club’s next highest-earner, Josef Martinez, who earns a base salary of just $4 million. However, one is reminded that this agreed package for Messi pales in comparison to what was reportedly offered by Saudi Premiere League team Al Hilal, the princely sum of US$1.6 billion over three years.

In recent times Saudi Arabia, backed by its Public Investment Fund (PIF) — reportedly valued at $650 billion — has launched an all-out offensive into sports. With an offer of US$75 million per year for his on-field services (with the potential to reach $200 million through commercial agreements), Cristiano Ronaldo agreed on terms with Al Nassr last December, which started a trail of professional footballers climbing onto the proverbial gravy train.

Most notably, 35-year-old French international Karim Benzema left Real Madrid to join the two-time Asian champions Al Ittihad on a two-year contract worth US$436 million; 32-year-old French midfielder N’Golo Kante left Chelsea for Al Ittihad on a free transfer for a four-year deal worth US$109.78 million per year; and Wolverhampton Wanderers received a club-record transfer fee from Al Hilal for their 26-year-old Captain Ruben Neves, worth US$60 million.

The ‘Saudi raid’ was particularly impactful for Chelsea as they also saw the departure of 32-year-old Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly to Al Hilal for $21.61million on a three-year deal, and 31-year-old Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to Al Ahli fora three-year, US$21-million package. Al Ahli also lured 31-year-old Roberto Firmino from Liverpool on a free transfer, after his contract ended in May.

The seemingly bottomless PIF wallet still has pending offers on the table for Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Wilfred Zaha (Crystal Palace), Fabinho(Liverpool), Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle United), Alex Telles (Manchester United), and Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City), to name a few. While it was reported on Tuesday (July 25) that Al Hilal made a staggering offer of $1.1 billion to Kylian Mbappe (US$332-million transfer fee, US$776-million salary), the Frenchman has indicated he has no interest in playing in Saudi Arabia.

Beyond football, the oil-rich nation is planting deep roots in sports, having hosted Formula 1 events since 2021; the world’s richest horse race, the Saudi Cup (a US$20-million purse), since 2020; and boxing, wherein they have hosted everything from high-level heavyweight title fights (Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk) to high-profile events (Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury).

Then, just over a year ago, the first LIV Golf event. “LIV” — the Roman numerals for 54, the score if every hole on a par-72 course were birdied and the number of holes to be played at LIV events — was held in Saudi Arabia, attracting several major champions and former world number ones, and sent shockwaves through the sport that shattered long-held structures, partnerships, and relationships. This created a rift between the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA), the world’s pre-eminent pro golf league, and the Arab-funded LIV Series, as PGA players were not allowed to participate.

A number of PGA players broke ranks and resigned from the PGA, including Dustin Johnson — winner of two major championships and a former World No. 1 — who was reportedly paid US$150 million to play in the LIV series. For perspective, Johnson had previously won 24 PGA events since 2008 and earned a total of $74 million on the PGA tour.

For nearly a year, after hundreds of millions spent, after lawsuits and counter-lawsuits, and players leaving one league for the other, the PGA (surprisingly) joined forces with LIV Golf in January 2023. The move effectively combined the PGA’s marketing power, television contracts, and cultural footprint with Saudi financing. Truth be told, the PGA was not in a position to enter into a ‘money war’ with the Saudis and made a wise choice to join forces with “the enemy”.

Which leads to the NBA and how all this Middle East spending may be impactful. There is a 12-member Saudi basketball league that was founded in 1976, the Saudi Premiere League, but the PIF has, apparently, not looked towards basketball the way it has looked at other professional sports, especially golf and football. However, NBA players are taking note of the colossal offers on the table for football, particularly Mbappe’s offer, and must be wondering what the future may hold for them.

NBA stars LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Draymond Green reacted on social media to the massive Mbappe offer, with LeBron tweeting to his 52.6 million followers, “Me headed to Saudi when they call @RichPaul4 & @mavcarter for that 1-year deal!” and Draymond joking, “They got basketball leagues too, right? I don’t [think] the ink on my contract has dried up yet.”

Basketball is a growing sport in Saudi Arabia and, as recently as 2018, the Saudi men’s team won the Arab National Championship. There is nothing to stop them from offering US$500 million per year to Giannis or US$600 million per year to Nikola Jokic. The Saudis are obviously not bothered by short-term losses, and basketball could be an attractive target.

There would be a number of players who would decline offers due to Saudi Arabia’s well-documented record on human rights violations but, like the other sports, there will be a lot of willing takers. For perspective, LeBron will make US$47.6 million next season with the Los Angeles Lakers but he is probably worth (minimum) four times that, if ticket sales and ratings are considered, as are the other revenue drivers — Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, etc. Saudi Arabia has not (yet) expressed any public interest in basketball but the NBA had better stand and take notice.

Of course this massive spending on sports could be part of a Saudi political strategy to launder their global image but history has proven that money talks and people follow the money. This is possibly a grand scheme of ‘sportswashing’ and it will obviously have detractors (rightfully so), but in the grand scheme of things how many times has human rights successfully stood in the way of financial achievement?

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