Jack Nicklaus Wins $50 Million in Defamation Case
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus has received a $50 million verdict from a Florida jury after he filed a defamation lawsuit against his former company, Nicklaus Companies, which was supported by billionaire Howard Milstein.
Nicklaus, an 18-time major champion, is also thinking about a potential $750 million offer to join LIV Golf, claiming he’s no longer in a position to manage his former company’s operations mentally.
He mentioned that he met with representatives from Saudi Arabia in 2021 but declined their offer on two occasions. He stated, “I received an offer of over $100 million from Saudi Arabia to probably do something similar to what Greg is doing. I said no, once verbally and once in writing. I said, ‘Guys, I have to stay on the PGA Tour. I helped start the PGA Tour.'” It seems like an important aspect of his legacy for him.
The lawsuit contended that he turned down the offer because he believed the PGA Tour was crucial to his legacy and didn’t want to be affiliated with a league that wasn’t supported by it.
“These are the people who planted the story,” Eugene Stearns, Nicklaus’ attorney, asserted during the trial. “That story is a lie. … What they wanted to create in the public’s mind was that Jack Nicklaus was an old man who sold out to the Saudis.”
The jury found that the defendants disseminated false information that harmed Nicklaus’ reputation, leading to “ridicule, hatred, mistrust and contempt,” as reported by the Palm Beach Post.
Stearns emphasized the difficulty of proving reputational harm in such cases, particularly in Nicklaus’ situation, noting that the allegations that he had abandoned the PGA Tour for Saudi Arabia were factually incorrect. “So I’m glad that Jack was exonerated,” he added.
Now 85 years old, Nicklaus is celebrated as one of the greatest golfers in history, boasting 73 event wins and holding the record for the most major victories with 18—three more than Tiger Woods. His last major win was at the 1986 Masters, 24 years after his first.
