Rams lock up leading rusher Kyren Williams for 3yr/$33m. Just an example of a non-holdout training camp contract extension for a player entering the last year of his deal. Here’s more:

- JJ Watt (3yr/$123m)

- Kaleb McGary (2yr/$30m)

- Courtland Sutton (4yr/$92m)

- Rashawn Slater (4yr/$114m)

It’s perfectly normal to reach extensions with your best players during training camp without igniting a fanbase, making Stephen A BIG MAD, or destroying the relationship with your top defensive talent.

Spurs extended De’Aaron Fox for virtually the same price the Lakers are paying Luka Doncic. Doncic will opt-out (plus sign an even more lucrative extension) after 2028, while San Antonio guarantees Fox a fixed salary for the last two years of his 4 year extension. Still, Fox and Luka make the same number for 2026-2028? Weird. The Max Contract system of the NBA needs an overhaul.

PLAYOFFS, but golf. The PGA Tour calendar has 3 stops left, 70 players still fighting, and plenty of cash to dish out. Months ago, the Tour juggled its playoff formula, but I’m sure you don’t have all the details dialed in. Let’s catch ya up:

Tournaments

- FedEx St. Jude (Memphis)

- BMW Championship (Maryland/Baltimore)

- Tour Championship (Atlanta)

Cuts

No cuts within each tournament. If you’re here, you’re family. At least until next week. The BMW will feature the remaining top 50, and the final 30 will compete in Atlanta. The season long points carryover for the first two tournaments (i.e. even if Scottie finishes last in Memphis, he’ll play the next week in Baltimore due to the strength of his existing points).

Win a tournament and you’re awarded 2000 points - quadruple a normal tour event. If you’re stuck towards the bottom of the top 70, one win will guarantee you a trip to Atlanta. Win any of the three (no matter where you stand) and you have a great chance to finish in the top 10.

Money

The Tour moved away from a winner-take-all championship to more of a bonus pool distribution structure. Already, since the regular season is now over, the Tour has dished out $20m to the top 10 Fedex Cup leaders. Scott took him $10m by himself. Fun day.

The Tour will again distribute a pool of money after the BMW. Top 30 players will split just over $23m with $5m going to the current #1. Lastly, the winner of the Tour Championship secures a one time $10m payout, plus his share of a $57m bonus pool shared amongst the remaining 30 players. All told, it’s a great time to be Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIroy.

Tour Championship

Forget the starting strokes formula of years past. No one is starting a tournament ten under. That’s gone.

How’d we get here and what does it mean?

We’re looking at almost $100m in commitments to all Tour members with about $80m guaranteed for playoff contenders. Whatever your interpretation of the last 4 years, this is all brand new money in a post-LIV world. The players squeezed $100m out of the Tour. More to the point, stars are rewarded more for an entire season’s accomplishments. It’s now much more possible to “win” the FedEx Cup without winning the Tour Championship. Is this good? Hell yeah. There’s no reason to make the Tour Championship into a gimmicky Super Bowl. Golf has 4 majors. What I hope to see is three very competitive golf tournaments, excellent production, and even a healthy dose of looking back on 2025. Remind us who and how the Waste Management was won. Talk to us about what made this year’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am special (Rory won). The PGA Schedule is a marathon, but that’s special. Every tournament, every Fedex Cup point matters. Help viewers contextualize the rankings by narrating how we got to this point. Otherwise, just watch these guys sweat out 90% humidity while trying to grip a golf club.