Leeds United cost Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas huge payday

Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were among the disappointed Leeds fans on Sunday afternoon.

The English football giants were resigned to another season in the country’s second tier after losing in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.

A 1-0 win for Southampton handed the Saints a place in the Premier League next season and a windfall of around £150 million in revenue and broadcast income.

It represents a tough blow for Leeds’ owners, who shelled out big bucks to strike a £170 million deal with the former owner.

Taking ownership from Andrea Radrizzani was the 49ers Enterprises Global, a consortium led by the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, which includes a handful of celebrity minor investors.

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And, therefore, the defeat in football’s richest game was an investment setback for Spieth and Thomas who hold stakes in the club.

Last year, Spieth told Sky Sports that promotion back to the Premier League for Leeds would make the investment even better.

“Relegation wasn’t ideal, but we got involved with the 49ers group. I thought it would be a really cool opportunity. It’s a big city, a historic club, a great venue at Elland Road.

“Once you start to look into it, you think this could be really exciting and with relegation, we were able to renegotiate whether we wanted to do it.

“It was never really a decision, we wanted to do it and it just ended up being probably a better deal if we get promoted soon.

“We’re just watching, but I’m really excited to have a team that I am emotionally invested in.

“I’ve watched Premier League soccer now for the last few years pretty intently. It will be Championship soccer for now and Premier League soon.”

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Meanwhile, Thomas spoke ahead of the final last week as he prepared for the PGA Championship in his home state of Kentucky.

The two-time major champ insisted that interest was sparked by Matt Fitzpatrick’s caddie Billy Foster.

“[Billy and I] have definitely become a lot closer over the last year, and he’s given us a lot of insight and knowledge in terms of Leeds and sending us videos from games,” he said.

Before Leeds’ relegation last season, a £400m agreement for 49ers Enterprises to take over from chairman Radrizzani was reached.

However, it changed to £170 million after the club went down.

The investment group has had a stake in Leeds since 2018, initially 15% and then 44%.

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.