Jack Nicklaus awarded $50 million in defamation lawsuit

A Florida jury awarded Jack Nicklaus $50 million on Monday in his defamation lawsuit against Nicklaus Companies, which is owned by billionaire banker Howard Milstein.

Nicklaus, 85, filed the lawsuit in response to statements made by Milstein and other Nicklaus Companies officials during a previous trial in a New York court.

In the defamation suit, Nicklaus claimed the defendants suggested he had considered a $750 million deal to become the face of the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League and disseminated those false statements to the media.

“It’s always difficult in a defamation case to prove reputational damage, because, especially for a guy like Jack, it’s always a very good reputation,” Nicklaus’ lawyer, Eugene Stearns, told ESPN on Monday. “But I think what was important was the dispute that arose three and a half years ago when the company told the world that Jack was selling out the PGA Tour to benefit Saudi golf, when that wasn’t true. So we’re happy that Jack was vindicated.”

In court documents, the golfer’s lawyers wrote that a Nicklaus Companies executive asked him to meet with Golf Saudi representatives in 2021 about designing a golf course in Saudi Arabia. During this meeting, Nicklaus learned that Golf Saudi wanted him to accept a leadership role within LIV Golf.

“According to Nicklaus, he was not interested in the offer and declined because he felt the PGA Tour was an important part of his legacy, and if the PGA was not supportive of a new league, he did not want to be involved,” court documents state.

Nicklaus said the defendants also alleged that he was not mentally fit to manage his business affairs and that he suffered from dementia.

“What they said was, ‘You need to have the keys taken away,'” Stearns said. “But the combination of it all was unfortunate, and we’re glad that all of this will soon be behind Jack, and we hope that the Nicklaus Companies will get through this as well. But it was an unfortunate incident, and I hope that now it’s over.”

According to the Palm Beach Post, the jury ruled that Nicklaus Companies actively participated in the false publication of facts that damaged the 18-time major champion’s reputation and exposed him to “ridicule, hatred, distrust, distrust or contempt.”

The Post also reported that the jury found Milstein and Nicklaus Companies executive Andrew O’Brien not personally liable.

Nicklaus Companies said it paid the legendary golfer $145 million in May 2007 for exclusive rights to his golf course design services and marketing, promotion and branding rights.

Nicklaus resigned from the company in 2017, triggering a five-year non-compete clause in the deal that prevented him from designing golf courses himself. Nicklaus resigned from the company’s board of directors in May 2022.

Shortly thereafter, Nicklaus Companies sued Nicklaus and his company GBI Investors, alleging tortious interference, breach of contract and breach of judicial duty against Nicklaus. The complaint alleged that Nicklaus misappropriated opportunities from Nicklaus Companies for his personal benefit.

At the time of that trial, Nicklaus said in a statement: “The claims made by Howard Milstein are false. Our relationship has been difficult at best. I have little doubt about the outcome, but I do not intend to make a public spectacle of this, if it can be avoided.”

A Florida arbitrator ruled in July 2024 that Nicklaus was no longer restricted by the non-compete clause and was free to design golf courses.

In April, New York Supreme Court Civil Division Judge Joel M. Cohen ruled that Nicklaus had the right to use his own name, image and likeness, while Nicklaus Companies owned the trademarks it had purchased and could continue to sell clothing and equipment bearing Nicklaus’ name, nickname and “Golden Bear” logos.