{"id":437179,"date":"2025-10-23T00:51:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T00:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/?p=437179"},"modified":"2025-10-23T00:51:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T00:51:31","slug":"jack-nicklaus-awarded-50-million-in-defamation-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/jack-nicklaus-awarded-50-million-in-defamation-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack\u202fNicklaus Awarded $50 Million In Defamation Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Florida jury awarded golf legend Jack Nicklaus<\/a> $50 million in his defamation lawsuit against the Nicklaus Companies<\/a>. The 85-year-old sued his former business partners, accusing them of making false statements about his alleged connections to LIV Golf and his mental health. A Florida jury sided with the 18-time major champion, marking a major victory for one of the most respected names in golf.<\/p>\n

Jury Finds Nicklaus Companies Guilty of Defamation<\/h3>\n

Nicklaus filed the suit in response to statements made by officials of the Nicklaus Companies during litigation in a case filed in New York. In that case, the company sought to prevent the golfer from using his name, image, and likeness to promote his golf course design ventures. However, the case was later dismissed by the judge.<\/p>\n

The verdict came after a tense legal battle in Palm Beach County. A six-person jury ruled that the Nicklaus Companies, now controlled by billionaire banker Howard Milstein and once closely associated with the golf icon, made false and damaging claims that defamed him. Among those claims were that Nicklaus had discussed a $750 million deal to become an ambassador for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League and that he was suffering from dementia and couldn’t handle business matters.<\/p>\n

Nicklaus strongly denied both accusations, and his legal team claimed the statements aimed to harm his reputation and exploit his name. The jury ruled that the Nicklaus Companies took part in distributing and actively encouraged the publication of false statements that damaged Nicklaus\u2019 reputation, exposing him to \u201cridicule, hatred, mistrust, or contempt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Judge Reid P. Scott II talks to lawyers before closing arguments in his courtroom at the Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Fla,, on October 20, 2025. He is presiding over Jack Nicklaus’ defamation suit against his former business partners, including billionaire Howard Milstein.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The court awarded Nicklaus $50 million in damages. The jury did not hold businessman Howard Milstein and company executive Andrew O\u2019Brien personally liable, placing full responsibility on the Nicklaus Companies instead.<\/p>\n

Nicklaus Companies Denies Trying to Defame Nicklaus<\/h3>\n

This case is part of a long-running legal feud between Nicklaus and the company that still bears his name. In 2007, the golf legend sold certain commercial and design rights to the Nicklaus Companies for around $145 million. The deal allowed the company to use his name and likeness for golf-related ventures, including course design and branded merchandise.<\/p>\n

The partnership went smoothly for years but turned sour after Nicklaus stepped away from the company in 2017. Disputes soon arose over business rights, control, and how his name was being used. Things escalated when the Nicklaus Companies began circulating stories suggesting he had been negotiating with LIV Golf, the controversial tour backed by Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund.<\/a><\/p>\n

Defense attorneys argued at trial that Nicklaus Companies executives never tried to defame Nicklaus and claimed the case was primarily a business dispute. But Nicklaus said he did meet with Golf Saudi officials once in 2021 \u2014 only to discuss a potential golf course design project, not an ambassadorial role.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: \u00a9 THOMAS CORDY\/PALM BEACH POST \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Florida jury awarded golf legend Jack Nicklaus $50 million in his defamation lawsuit against the Nicklaus Companies. The 85-year-old sued his former business partners, accusing them of making false statements about his alleged connections to LIV Golf and his mental health. A Florida jury sided with the 18-time major champion, marking a major victory […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5425,"featured_media":437184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,246],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-437179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-golf-news","tag-jack-nicklaus"],"modified_by":"Ajayi Segun","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5425"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437179"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":437186,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437179\/revisions\/437186"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}