Rory McIlroy spent a total of 42 seconds in court on Tuesday. This was to inform the judge that Horizon and himself were “narrowing the issues” surrounding their case over unpaid commissions. The court was adjourned. On Wednesday, the counsel for McIlroy informed the court that both sides had reached an agreement. A case that was meant to take approximately eight weeks had been settled in a little over a day.
It is understood that McIlroy will pay Horizon Sports Management, his former agency, over $25 million in damages. He will also foot the legal costs. This stems from Horizon’s work in procuring endorsements for McIlroy, including his 5 year / $100 million contract with Nike. The 22 year-old claimed that when he signed for the company in 2011 he was held to “unconscionable” terms, and fought to seek a remedy to this in court. He formally left the agency in 2013, but as with every representation agreement, was due to pay commissions on contracts negotiated during that time.
A figure of $8 million was initially offered for settlement to Horizon, but was declined. Rory’s representation agreement stated he pay 20% commission on endorsements and 1.5% of earnings as a management fee. $25 million is very close to what they would have received under those terms.
Rory has since formed his own management company. Donal Casey, formerly of Horizon, oversees his affairs.