In the spring of 2016, Kevin Clark received an unexpected job offer. A group of media friends were starting a sports website with ambitious plans and opaque goals, and they wanted Clark, then a reporter at the Wall Street Journal, to join. Clark debated the decision as he attended the NFL owners’ meetings in Boca Raton, Florida. The new job was a gamble—a great unknown with obvious upside but terrifying downside.
“At that point, it was considered a risk to leave a huge newspaper like the Wall Street Journal,” Clark said. “Let alone for a website which didn’t even exist.”
At the meetings, Clark received advice from an NFL executive he knew well, Brian Rolapp, who had a reputation as a visionary. Rolapp told him, “In this era, any job can be the best job in the world.” Clark understood: the media industry was democratising, and success was no longer tied to massive institutions. Rolapp’s advice resonated with Clark’s dilemma—stay in a dream job or embrace a dream challenge. Two months later, Clark joined the new company, which became The Ringer, and later secured a TV deal with ESPN.
“I think that’s some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten,” Clark says. “It was 2016, nobody was saying that. He saw where things were going. To me, that’s unique, even among executives.”
Today, parallels exist between Clark’s 2016 decision and Rolapp’s in 2025. On Thursday, sources confirmed Rolapp, the NFL’s longtime chief media and business officer, is expected to be named the first PGA Tour CEO after a board vote at the Travelers Championship. Like Clark, Rolapp’s move is a gamble: leaving the NFL, a sports behemoth, for a golf tour rocked by a Saudi invasion and competitive upheaval. Yet Rolapp believes he is attuned to the environment and ready to navigate its challenges.
Who is Brian Rolapp? What is the PGA Tour gaining in its new chief executive? And where will the Tour head under his leadership? This story draws on interviews with seven individuals who know Rolapp, painting a picture of the man stepping into one of golf’s most critical roles. Several sources spoke anonymously due to the timing of Rolapp’s hiring and the sensitive subject matter.
‘Credibility,’ collaboration and self-promotion
By any measure, Brian Rolapp is anonymous. At 52, he joins the PGA Tour after years as the NFL’s most important deputy, the right-hand man to commissioner Roger Goodell and media strategist behind the league’s envied rights business. Joining the NFL in 2003, Rolapp climbed steadily over 22 years, overlapping with the league’s transformation into the epicentre of American sports.
Despite six promotions, Rolapp shunned the spotlight. “I don’t spend a lot of time self-promoting,” he told Fortune in 2015. “It’s not our culture.” Yet he played a pivotal role during the NFL’s explosive growth, particularly as chief media and business officer over the last eight years. He stewarded initiatives across football’s moneymaking ventures, with a focus on media rights. His achievements include the NFL’s last two TV rights deals, which will generate over $150 billion. He leaves as the betting favourite to succeed Goodell, whose contract runs through 2027.
“He’s bringing so much credibility,” a network executive said. “He’s the number two guy at, by far, the most successful sports league in this country. He’s smart, a good listener, well-liked and personable.”
Sources highlight Rolapp’s focus on “reach”—maximising audience size. The NFL’s strategy of prioritising viewership over immediate profit has strengthened its cultural grip and, ironically, boosted revenue. Rolapp co-authored this approach. “When you look at the NFL’s media strategy, it has been basically perfect,” Clark said. “They want proof of concept for everything, and it needs to work for both sides.”
Rolapp’s work on Thursday Night Football exemplifies this. He turned the Thursday slate into a testing ground, yielding key learnings and a multi-billion-dollar Amazon deal. Similar growth opportunities exist at the PGA Tour. “There are people now who say, ‘it’s an existential problem that people would rather watch YouTube golf than PGA Tour golf,’” Clark said. “But I don’t think Brian is going to see that. The NFL is really good at dominating a market.”
Rolapp’s ability to maintain relationships despite securing billions in media deals reflects emotional intelligence vital for the PGA Tour’s player-driven ecosystem. “Brian is a great collaborator and a smart leader who knows how to make agendas become reality,” a network source said. His reputation is consistent among peers, and he is no stranger to those with stakes in pro sports.
PGA Tour changes and Jay Monahan’s future
Excitement surrounds Rolapp’s arrival at PGA Tour headquarters, with one source saying it was “buzzing” and commissioner Jay Monahan feeling “really good” about the hire. Monahan’s future remains uncertain. Three sources expect the Tour to phase out Monahan after a transition period of six to 18 months, with Rolapp taking over day-to-day operations. The Tour may appoint a new commissioner later, but Rolapp would lead.
“He’s not a golf guy, per se, but I think that he and the Tour are both looking at that as a positive,” the network executive said. “They have new thinking, new blood coming in.”
The Strategic Sports Group (SSG), which invested $1.5 billion in the Tour, was heavily involved in Rolapp’s hire. This is the group’s first major move, and sources suggest the Tour may soon utilise the investment. “I think the SSG is a very powerful player right now,” a source said.
Rolapp enters a Tour facing upheaval and opportunity. Challenges include player division, SSG’s investment direction, schedule and postseason restructuring, and enhanced TV, social media, and YouTube strategies. The biggest issue is LIV Golf, fractured from the PGA Tour since the 2023 “framework agreement.” Rolapp’s success may hinge on reintegrating LIV stars equitably.
“[Brian] is coming from a place where the biggest brands and stars compete in high-profile slots on major platforms,” the network executive said. “The PGA Tour needs help in that regard.” Rolapp’s Harvard Business School connection with LIV CEO Scott O’Neil could aid negotiations, though Saudi Public Investment Fund openness remains unclear. Early in his tenure, Rolapp will focus on pathways for LIV players to return.
A new kind of PGA Tour leader
A framed photograph, “Bad Day at Mount Hermon,” hangs in Rolapp’s office, depicting a football game with a school fire in the background. “All the stuff we do is completely irrelevant if the game’s not good and pure,” Rolapp told Fortune in 2015. “The building’s on fire, but it doesn’t matter, if the content’s good.”
This metaphor captures Rolapp’s challenge at the PGA Tour. LIV’s disruption has shifted focus from on-course action to off-course conflicts. If Rolapp can refocus attention on the game, golf will benefit. Golf’s fanbase, lacking teams, engages deeply with players, amplifying both triumphs and disputes. Rolapp, new to golf, has time to learn its nuances.
A devout Mormon raised near Washington, D.C., Rolapp studied at Brigham Young, played lacrosse, and comes from an athletic family—his eldest son walked on for Michigan’s 2023 national title football team. His personal story will emerge, but his role is the question. Past PGA Tour commissioners were ethicists, leaders, businessmen, or marketers. Rolapp, per Clark, is a “navigator”—equipped to steer the Tour through stormy waters.
“I think everyone’s a little scared,” Clark said. “You just got to have someone who will say, ‘Okay, I got this.’ Brian is that guy.”
This article originated on Golf.com
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