TORONTO — Keith Pelley is resigning as CEO of the European tour to lead powerhouse Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, The Sports Network in Canada reported Tuesday.
TSN said Pelley, who was president of Rogers Media before leaving in 2015 to lead European golf, has reached an agreement to oversee one of North America’s largest sports and entertainment groups.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has assets in four of the six major sports leagues on the continent, with primary holdings of the Toronto Maples Leafs and the Toronto Raptors.
The move would come at a critical time in golf. The European tour is part of the June 6 agreement with the PGA Tour and the Saudi backers of LIV Golf to form a commercial company that could reshape how golf is run.
The deadline to finalize the deal was Dec. 31, although all sides have continued negotiations.
The European tour did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The tour is in Dubai this week to resume its season.
Pelley negotiated a $5 billion rights contract to the NHL for Rogers Media before leaving in 2015 to take over the European tour. He brought creativity, beyond his blue-framed glasses to a tour that didn’t have nearly the resources of the PGA Tour.
He struck a deal with Dubai-based DP World in 2021 to rename the circuit to the DP World Tour. He introduced one tournament used a shot clock, another involving six-hole competitions. Neither stuck, but there was a willingness to try to modernize golf.
Pelley also chose to align the European tour with the PGA Tour in a strategic alliance that now includes co-sanctioned events for both members, the Scottish Open in the UK and two tournaments on the PGA Tour held opposite stronger events.
Ten leading players from the European tour’s Race to Dubai earned PGA Tour cards this year through part of that alliance.
TSN said Pelley’s hiring could be announced as early as Thursday, citing three sources familiar with the hiring.
He would succeed Michael Friisdahl, who was MLSE’s president and CEO from 2015 until 2022. The chief financial officer, Cynthia Devine, has been acting CEO.