Brian Rolapp, formerly the NFL’s chief media officer, has taken on the role of the PGA Tour’s first CEO to lead the organization’s business and media strategy during a time of significant change. Rolapp transitioned to the PGA Tour earlier this summer after stepping away from the NFL, bringing with him extensive experience shaping one of the world’s most lucrative sports media landscapes.

This new CEO position complements the existing commissioner role held by Jay Monahan through 2026 but involves overseeing many vital aspects related to the Tour’s media dealings and player relations.

Leveraging NFL Media Expertise to Navigate Golf’s Changing Broadcast Landscape

During his seven years with the NFL, Rolapp helped craft media deals worth over $111 billion, managing network contracts and streaming initiatives that expanded the sport’s reach. Now, he faces the challenge of applying this knowledge to golf, where traditional broadcasting still dominates but audience habits are shifting rapidly.

The PGA Tour’s current media agreements extend through 2030, with CBS and NBC holding weekend broadcast rights and ESPN+ providing early-round streaming coverage. However, Rolapp recognizes these arrangements must evolve to keep pace with how audiences consume content in today’s fragmented media environment.

Addressing Audience Fragmentation and the Rise of Digital Consumption

Rolapp acknowledges that sports remain a unique attraction amid widespread fragmentation in media consumption, as he explained during a CNBC Squawk Box interview:

“I think the good news on all of this is that: when you look at media and it’s fragmented and everything you know and everything you talk about here on-air, sports is still breaking through,”

Rolapp said.

“And if you look at where audiences are being aggregated — despite fragmentations in the media — it’s been around sports.”

Drawing on the NFL’s recent moves to digital platforms like Peacock, Amazon, and ESPN+, Rolapp understands the importance of following fans to where they spend their time. His goal at the PGA Tour is to expand the sport’s presence on digital channels while balancing the preferences of its longtime audience.

Challenges in Balancing Streaming’s Appeal and Golf’s Established Fan Demographics

While streaming platforms often highlight younger viewers to attract advertisers, this shift risks alienating older fans who may find new technologies less accessible. Golf traditionally appeals to an older demographic, creating a delicate scenario where growth via digital must be balanced against retaining core viewers.

Rolapp emphasized this complexity, saying,

“We need to go where the fans are,”

he continued.

“And increasingly, the fans are spending their time(s) in digital. And I imagine a big priority, as I get there, is to increase our digital footprint in all sorts of ways. That could include the tour events themselves, but it also could include everything in between the tour events, and tell the stories of these golfers. And tell the stories of the sport, which I think is underrepresented in media.”

Navigating Player Relations and Enhancing Golf’s Media Narrative

The relationship between players and media rights holders has grown more strained recently, with some golfers refusing to engage with reporters after rounds and others critiquing their portrayals. Rolapp faces the task of managing these tensions without allowing them to undermine the content quality or the sport’s story.

His role is not only to handle these conflicts but to deepen fan engagement by making golf’s presentation more compelling across platforms.

Future Outlook: Uniting Fans Through Strategic Media Innovation

Drawing lessons from his NFL tenure, Rolapp recognizes that despite audiences being distributed across numerous platforms, sports maintain the ability to bring people together if approached with the right strategy. For the PGA Tour, this means adapting media rights management and storytelling to reflect fans’ changing habits while maintaining the sport’s unique appeal.

As Rolapp settles into his leadership role, the industry will watch closely to see how his approach to the PGA Tour media strategy fans will influence both growth and viewership in the years leading up to 2030.