The Masters concessions are legendary, partly for popular dishes like the Chilli Cheese Sandwich, but especially for the low prices unlike any other sporting event in the country. It’s clear that Augusta National cares more about customers having an enjoyable experience than making money in on-course dining. With merchandise, it’s a different story.
It’s not that Masters merch is a scam, but it’s more in line with what you see in other golf tournaments. And if you’ve been to the event, you know Augusta National is doing one hell of a deal. However, it might surprise you to learn how much business he does during this week in April.
A tweet from sports content producer Joe Pompliano got a lot of traction this week and for good reason. The figures Pompliano posted in a thread about the various sources of Masters income were reported by Forbes’ Justin Teitelbaum before the 2022 tournament, but they remain just as eye-catching:
So, in the time it took you to read here, Augusta National earned another $16,000. The club earns around $1 million per hour, $10 million per day, and $70 million on average over an entire year and we’re talking $3.5 billion with a “B”. That’s $1 billion more than J.Crew! Talk about raking.
Of course, part of the reason the Masters are making so many of their own logo polo shirts – which are produced by outside brands like Peter Millar – is because you can only buy them this week. In person.
This is why you see people walking around with giant shopping bags full of clothes — we’ve heard of someone who spends $36,000 (!) last year – after picking up something, anything for every family member and acquaintance. And why do you see such long lines just to get into the main merchandise store, before customers no longer wade through lines inside reminiscent of Disney World rides. And why do you see things like Garden Gnome Masters fetch a lot of money on eBay. You get the point. This stuff is just hard to find.
By the way, the Forbes story estimates that the Masters are still earning $8 million from concessions despite these reasonable prices. But merchandising accounts for about half of the tournament’s total revenue. And if you listen very carefully, you might hear an army of cash registers ringing every second of the event.