PGA Tour caddies sue over wearing bibs with logos

FILE - In this July 15, 2007, file photo, golfer Jonathan Byrd, right, shows caddie Mike Hicks the contour of the 17th green during John Deere Classic golf tournament at the TPC Deere Run golf course in Silvis, Ill. A group of PGA Tour caddies has filed a class-action lawsuit Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, in northern California, demanding that the tour compensate them for wearing bibs. Hicks was named as the two class representatives. The other was Kenny Harms, who caddies for Kevin Na. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File) FILE - In this July 15, 2007, file photo, golfer Jonathan Byrd, right, shows caddie Mike Hicks the contour of the 17th green during John Deere Classic golf tournament at the TPC Deere Run golf course in Silvis, Ill. A group of PGA Tour caddies has filed a class-action lawsuit Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, in northern California, demanding that the tour compensate them for wearing bibs. Hicks was named as the two class representatives. The other was Kenny Harms, who caddies for Kevin Na. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

By Associated Press February 3, 2015 3 min read

SAN DIEGO (AP) – A group of PGA Tour caddies sued the PGA Tour in federal court Tuesday for making them wear bibs that have the logo of the tournament sponsors without sharing in what it estimates as $50 million in endorsement revenue.

The class-action suit on behalf of 81 caddies was filed in San Francisco, where former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon successfully sued the NCAA for keeping college players from selling their marketing rights.

“This lawsuit is intended to protect the rights of caddies who are required to endorse tour sponsors with zero compensation from the PGA Tour,” said Gene Egdorf, the caddies’ Houston-based lawyer. “Any working professional deserves to be paid based on the income they generate, but that’s not happening on the PGA Tour.”

PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said there would be no comment.

At issue was whether the tour had a right to force caddies to wear bibs and “retain for itself the tens of millions of dollars in advertising generated by those bibs.”