Inside Lexi Thompson’s new endorsement contract, “we were all in shock”
Golf agent Brett Falkoff of GSE Worldwide, a sports and marketing agency, found out late last summer through colleagues that Dick’s Sporting Goods, the company that owns and exclusively sells Maxfli golf balls, was hoping to boost Maxfli’s visibility by teaming up with a player on the PGA Tour.
Although none of the male players on GSE’s roster could take advantage of the timing, Falkoff was asked if 11-time LPGA winner Lexi Thompson—whom Falkoff has represented since 2020 and whose ball deal with Bridgestone was about to expire at the end of the year—would be open to discussing a deal with Dick’s?
In a phone interview on Monday, Falkoff remarked to GOLF.com, “I said, ‘Absolutely not.'”
Although Maxfli has a long history of Tour pros using its balls—Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, and Fred Couples are just a few of the players who have backed the brand—Falkoff was unaware of Maxfli’s lack of presence in the top divisions of the game in more recent years. Falkoff initially thought it was impossible for Thompson to play Maxflis.
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Nevertheless, he and his client decided to try Maxfli’s Tour Series model as part of the research process as they discussed their choices for a new ball partner for 2024 and beyond.
They then observed the outcomes.
“Everyone was stunned,” Falkoff remarked. “The golf ball outperformed all the other items she tested.” We were able to come to a pleasant understanding when it turned out to be a good fit. Under the terms of the one-year agreement, Thompson will wear a Maxlfi emblem on the right side of her visor, play ball for the 2024 season, and give feedback to Maxlfi as it designs its 2025 models.
Falkoff is aware of how it would appear: a well-known and very marketable celebrity signing with a business that isn’t very well-known. “When they see a deal like this, they automatically assume it was a money grab. But if you truly thought about it, why would she take on a money-grabbing project at this point in her career? Ultimately, her primary goal is to play an instrument that best suits her abilities.
“I told Lexi that you’re not going to sign with a golf-ball company just because you’re getting paid a good amount of money,” he continued. You’re going to play whatever works best for you at this stage of your career.
Although Thompson said that testing went very well and that she was able to increase ball speed without sacrificing feel or control, Falkoff admitted that launch-monitor data was not the only factor in the switch’s operation. Although Thompson started to settle into a groove towards the end of 2023, the majority of that year was difficult for her. Before the Solheim Cup, Thompson made just three cuts in her 11 starts, and she only broke 70 four times.
A caddie move and a few mid-season swing adjustments were the necessary changes. Thompson revealed in January of this year that she had brought on Colton Heisey as a full-time caddy, and the two had started working together by the end of 2023.
