The company’s sponsorship of the Famers Insurance Open still has three years remainingGetty Images
Farmers Insurance, a longtime PGA Tour sponsor, has told the tour it will not renew its sponsorship of the San Diego event when it expires in 2026, sources told SBJ this week.
Farmers has scaled back the number of executives it is sending to the Farmers Insurance Open later this month and has brought back a number of hotel rooms to the Tour, along with plans to reduce activation, sources said.
The Farmers recently signed a seven-year extension ahead of the 2018 event. Full-field events on the PGA Tour cost $13 million to $15 million annually from title sponsors.
The Farmers have been one of the longest-running title sponsors on the tour, having put their name on the tournament prior to the 2010 event. It also sponsors the Advocates Pro Golf Association (APGA) Tour event at Torrey Pines prior to PGA Tour competition. CAA oversees the farmer partnership with the tour.
The insurance company also sponsored Rickie Fowlerone of the most popular players on the PGA Tour over the past decade-plus, since 2013. But Fowler was spotted last week in Hawaii without the Farmers logo on his clothes and confirmed his deal will not be renewed.
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Raul Vargas, the new Farmers CEO was appointed just over a year ago. In August, Farmers laid off 11% of its workforce, or about 2,400 employees, in an effort it said was aimed at protecting long-term profitability. Many insurers, including Farmers, have also begun withdrawing coverage offers in states experiencing severe weather events, particularly California and Florida.
Farmers is the second high-profile company to recently decide not to renew with the PGA Tour. Wells Fargo in November also chose not to sign an extension for the Wells Fargo Tour when its deal expires after 2024. The tour initially had Charlotte-based Truist interested in replacing Wells Fargo, but the company ultimately decided not to continue, one source said. blackboard.
Some PGA Tour title sponsors are taking a wait-and-see approach as negotiations continue with the tour, the Public Investment Fund and the DP World Tour in trying to reach a deal that would invest billions in the tour. RBC has already confirmed that the RBC Canadian Open and RBC Heritage, a signature event, are on one-year deals in 2024 to see how that goes.
Despite the Farmers and Wells Fargo decisions, the Tour has had a strong roster of partners, and its tournaments are fully sponsored by 2024. The Tour has a “TBA” event on the schedule scheduled for July 8-14 – opposite the Open – that Instead of the previous Barbasol championship. But tourism officials expect positive news on this front in the coming months.
The PGA Tour declined to comment for this story. A Farmers spokesperson would only say that no further plans about sponsoring the tournament have been announced.