The battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has split the world of professional golf right down the middle.

Rory McIlroy’s been in the thick of it since day one. He’s the guy who took the PGA Tour’s side, never shying away from calling out LIV Golf and the players who jumped ship for big Saudi money.

LIV tried to shake up golf for good. They threw huge contracts at star players and pitched a faster, flashier version of the sport to win over young fans. But honestly, after 2025, the PGA Tour’s clearly coming out on top.

Last year, not a single LIV player won a major. Just three even made the Ryder Cup. Over the offseason, LIV couldn’t land any headline signings. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour keeps getting stronger, and LIV’s burned through over a billion dollars with little to show for it.

Now, McIlroy’s wondering if Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund—the same group that owns Newcastle United—could take a page from the football club’s playbook to rescue LIV Golf.

So, what’s the lesson? According to McIlroy, one of LIV’s biggest problems is just throwing money around without a plan. He thinks they should’ve followed a more sensible, patient approach, kind of like what they did with Newcastle.

On the Stick to Football podcast, McIlroy put it this way: “They’ve spent billions on LIV, the PIF, and the Saudis, and then I look at what they’ve done with Newcastle, for example. In football, you can’t just go out and spend five billion because of financial regulations. In golf, though, they could—and they did.”

He went on, “They’ve done a great job with Newcastle, moving the club up from where they were. If they’d used the same strategy in golf, we wouldn’t be in this mess. But here we are. The upside is that it’s made the majors and Ryder Cup feel even bigger, since those are the few times all the best players come together. But if golf wants to stay relevant, we need those top players facing off a lot more often.”

And he’s got a point. LIV Golf basically tossed out its original plan this offseason. They named the league after their 54-hole, three-day events, but now they’ve switched to the classic 72-hole format. Why? To try and grab Official World Golf Ranking points.

LIV’s spending spree has backed them into a corner. They need results—fast—or the whole thing could collapse.

They spent a fortune and still trail way behind the PGA Tour. Now, they’re scrambling, ditching their own rules just to survive. If they’d listened to McIlroy and taken the slow, steady route, they could have built something real—attracting big players naturally over the years, earning respect, and maybe even those precious ranking points.

Instead, they tried to shortcut their way to the top and now find themselves stuck. They’ve spent so much, they can’t just turn back. If they keep throwing money at the problem, they might sink the whole project for good.

A lot of Eagles fans will be glued to the screen for Week 18 against Washington. Sure, the playoff stakes matter, but there’s something else at play—one reserve might be suiting up for Philly for the last time.

Even though the Eagles are still in the hunt for that number-two seed, Nick Sirianni isn’t taking any chances. He’s resting the starters, keeping them fresh for the playoffs. So, you’ll see plenty of backups on the field.

But honestly, all eyes are on one guy: backup quarterback Tanner McKee. He’s stepping in for Jalen Hurts, and this game could mean everything for him—and maybe for the Eagles’ future, too.

Back when the Eagles grabbed McKee out of Stanford in the sixth round of the 2023 draft, nobody expected much. Just another backup, right? But after what he’s shown in 2024, it’s clear he belongs in the NFL.

Last year, Hurts and Kenny Pickett both got hurt late in the season, so McKee finally got his shot. He made his first start in Week 18 against the Giants. Before that, he came in against Dallas in Week 17 and threw two touchdowns in the second half to steal a win. Then he did it again in the season finale, tossing two more scores to beat the Giants with the backups.

In those two games, McKee was sharp—66.7% completion rate, 323 yards, four touchdowns, and zero picks. That was enough for Howie Roseman to send Pickett packing to Cleveland and tell McKee he was sticking around as the backup.

McKee hurt his finger early this season, so he didn’t start the year as Hurts’ backup. Still, he’s seen action in three games, completing all three of his passes for 33 yards—all during that blowout win over the Raiders.

Now, this game against Washington is huge for McKee. If he lights it up as he did against the Giants, teams will be calling Roseman, looking to trade for him. That could mean a nice draft pick for the Eagles—more ammo for trades, or just a shot at a promising young player.

Eagles fans will be rooting hard for McKee. Just don’t blink—you might be watching his last snaps in a Philly uniform.