Legendary golfer Nicklaus buys back rights to own name for $35.7m

Photo by Allan Nygren on Unsplash

Jack Nicklaus, the golfer, has finally succeeded in reclaiming the rights to his own name, image and likeness (NIL) after a long-running legal battle with investment group, GBI Services, which had bought 50% of his NIL rights as far back as 2007, and The Jack Nicklaus Companies, which GBI controlled.

GBI has now agreed to sell its interest in Nicklaus’ NIL rights, held by The Nicklaus Companies, as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy auction for $35.7 million.

20 Majors, LLC, an investment group led by Jack Nicklaus, TWG Global and Nicklaus Brown, has now completed the acquisition of the businesses of Nicklaus Companies, LLC, which Nicklaus founded over 50 years ago.

In a Nicklaus Companies statement, the company said: “The acquisition has reunited Mr. Nicklaus with the images and marks reflecting his extraordinary career, most notably the Golden Bear. It has also brought Mr. Nicklaus’ current design projects into Nicklaus Design.”

Jack Nicklaus himself said: “I am truly pleased to join forces with TWG Global to market the Nicklaus brand and expand upon the great success of Nicklaus Design’s golf course design business. The opportunities are great and the future is bright.”

TWG Global Holdings, LLC is an American group which has a wide-ranging portfolio of investments, including sporting brands such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Lakers, Professional Women’s Hockey League, and Cadillac Formula 1 Team.

Nicklaus (the person) had sued Howard Milstein, owner of The Nicklaus Companies, for defamation, and had been awarded $50m in damages by a jury. That damages award led to The Nicklaus Companies going into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which triggered an auction of its assets.

Milstein had paid $145m in 2007 for a 50% stake in The Nicklaus Companies, including the golfer’s course design business and his NIL licensing. Milstein is a big investor in golf related businesses, including ownership of Golf Magazine.

Unfortunately, the relationship between Nicklaus and Milstein soured, and the golfer resigned from the business in 2022 and filed an arbitration case in Florida to settle outstanding differences. Milstein then sued Nicklaus in a New York court.

During that litigation, which was decided mainly in Jack Nicklaus’ favour, Milstein made certain claims in court documents alleging that Nicklaus had been in discussions with the LIV tournament about a suggested $750m offer to be its public face. As The Guardian reported, Nicklaus, who was a key player in establishing the modern PGA Tour in 1975 and is still closely involved with it, sued for defamation and won $50m damages after a jury found in his favour.

That damages award triggered the Nicklaus Companies bankruptcy. But then, in January 2026, the judge overseeing the Delaware bankruptcy proceedings said that GBI’s rights to Nicklaus’ NIL IP were protected via a lien, and the company could use them as collateral to arrange a $17m loan with another Milstein-controlled company. Potentially, that could have meant Jack Nicklaus would again lose his NIL rights, if The Nicklaus Companies failed to pay the loan.

Experts have suggested that this scenario is what convinced Jack Nicklaus to abandon claims to the $50m defamation damages and pay the $35.7m to get his NIL rights, and his company, back.

US IP experts have expressed disappointment that this issue – what happens to NIL rights in bankruptcy – was not settled in court.

Jack Nicklaus, however, is pleased to have finally reclaimed his NIL rights. As he says in an interview with US website Golf Digest: “I didn’t do it for me… I’m 86 years old. This was for my legacy and for my family.”