When Does FedEx’s PGA Tour Sponsorship Run Out?

Scottie Scheffler holds the FedEx St. Jude Championship trophy — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Since 2007, the business end of the PGA Tour season has been synonymous with one company, shipping and logistics experts FedEx.

The was the year the FedExCup was established, the culmination of a season-long pursuit to be recognized as the PGA Tour’s champion each year.

However, the Memphis-headquartered company’s association with the PGA Tour began long before then, in 1986.

That year, the St. Jude Memphis Classic became the Federal Express St. Jude Classic (although it's not to be confused with the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which was established as a Playoffs event in 2022, taking the place of The Northern Trust).

Nick Price is given a cheque for winning the Fereral Express St. Jude Classic — FedEx has been a PGA Tour sponsor for decades

The company continued as the title sponsor right up until the inception of the FedExCup, at which point the event became the Stanford St. Jude Championship before a two-year spell as the St. Jude Classic.

By 2011, FedEx was best known for its sponsorship of the Playoffs, although for a period of seven years, it took on title sponsorship honors for the Memphis-based tournament once again, with the St. Jude Classic renamed the FedEx St. Jude Classic, before its run ended in 2018.

Even then, the company continued holding the dual role of title sponsor of the Playoffs and a specific event, putting its name to the WGC Invitational from 2019 until 2021, the year before the FedEx St. Jude Championship that we know today was established.

East Lake Golf Club — FedEx has sponsored the Playoffs since 2007

That is a detailed way of making a simple point: FedEx has had involvement as a PGA Tour sponsor in some form or other for 40 unbroken years.

However, there is a chance its association with the circuit could be coming to an end.

FedEx agreed its current 10-year extension for naming rights of the Playoffs in 2017 in a deal reportedly worth around $650m. As a result, it is guaranteed as the sponsor of the Playoffs through the end of 2027.

Its agreement as the title sponsor of the TPC Southwind Playoffs event also expires at the same time.

However, 2028 marks the start of the revamped PGA Tour, featuring it’s tiered Championship Series and Challenger Series.

From 2028, it will be all change at the end of the main PGA Tour season, too. The PGA Tour Championship Series Finale will mark the final event giving a chance for players to finish in the top 90 of the season-long points list, thereby guaranteeing PGA Tour status.

Of those, the top 32 will progress to a new-look Tour Championship to be held over two weeks.

In his press conference before the East Lake tournament, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp revealed that the finer details for the concluding events of the season-long race, including bonus money and sponsorship, are a work in progress, saying: “We continue to work on the details, including sponsorship and other things.”

Brian Rolapp talks to the media — Brian Rolapp is non-commital on FedEx's PGA Tour future

So, does FedEx have a future with the PGA Tour beyond 2027? That remains unclear.

A statement released by the PGA Tour in August read: “We are grateful to FedEx for all it contributes to the sport, and the positive impact they make in the community, including in Memphis with St. Jude.

“As we implement a new competitive model and map out our schedule for 2028 and beyond, we believe Memphis is well-positioned to remain part of the PGA Tour.”

However, it was also confirmed that the FedEx St. Jude Championship will not be part of the Championship Series.

Rolapp was also non-committal on the company’s future with the PGA Tour, saying it has been “an amazing partner” and “we’re in an existing contract, and we’re going to honor that.”

The company then released its own statement, although it also didn't offer guarantees over its future as a PGA Tour sponsor.

It read: “While we are disappointed the FedEx St. Jude Championship will not be part of the new Championship Series, we are encouraged by their plans to find other opportunities to bring professional golf to Memphis.

“Regardless of the tournament’s next chapter, our commitment to Memphis is unwavering. We will find new ways to partner with St. Jude to advance their mission, and we will continue making new investments in this great city we call home.”

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.