As a collector, I’m often at a loss when it comes to the slams, whether they're golf or tennis majors.
Someone wins, and collectors all look around to find there’s virtually nothing to get our hands on.
Want to buy into Bryson DeChambeau’s turnaround and his second U.S. Open championship? You can buy a signed 2021 Upper Deck card for a couple hundred dollars or a recent Leaf signed card.
However, the offerings are nothing like what is available for virtually every other sport. You aren’t going to find a true rookie or any card from DeChambeau's first five years as a pro.
And despite the fact this has been the case with tennis and golf for years — as independent contractors, golfers and tennis pros don’t come with the group rights like the other leagues — nothing has changed.
It keeps the PGA Tour, LIV, the ATP and the WTA from capitalizing, and that affects the earnings of the players off the course and court.
As a 13-year-old kid, I badly wanted to buy something from Jimmy Connors at the U.S. Open, and all that was available were generic “1991 U.S. Open” items.
Flash-forward to 2024, and nothing has changed.
Merchandise at Pinehurst this weekend was all about the 124th U.S. Open or Pinehurst No. 2 — despite the fact we know DeChambeau or Rory McIlroy items, if done with half the effort of the licensing programs for the major sports league, would fly off the shelves.
What the organizers of golf and tennis don’t understand is that the tail is wagging the dog as far as their future goes.
My son likes the NBA and the NFL because he learns the players from packs of cards. And he watches the games so he can monitor the players he gets in those packs that now reside in his cases and sheets.
It’s not the other way around, which should frankly should frighten those running tennis and golf ... and the players who play those sports.
Golf and tennis are actually less relevant with future generations because of these sports' lack of collectibility. Something needs to change.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.