NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday he was not surprised by the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, adding that as a golf fan, he believed the fight between the two companies was starting to hurt golfers. The deal will include a significant financial investment into the PGA Tour from the Public Investment Fund — a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Saudi Arabian government and the owner of LIV Golf.

The news has also brought on questions about how much more influence PIF and the Saudi government will be able to acquire in the sports world through future investments. The merger, like the PIF’s previous sports transactions, has been considered by some to be an attempt by the Saudi government to use sports to cleanse its reputation.

Silver shared his thoughts about Saudi investment into sports while on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday afternoon, noting that golf, like basketball, is a global sport.

“When the Saudis invest in sports, it gets outsized attention,” Silver said in response to a question about the merger. “Now, I don’t want to complain about that because we want to get outsized attention. On the other hand, somebody could go down the list there. They are investors in some of our largest American corporations. Some of the most well-known brands have investments from them. And I also think it’s a two-edged sword.

“I hear the comments about sportswashing. On the other hand, you’re talking about it, others are talking about it. … In the same way the World Cup — the football World Cup, soccer World Cup — brought enormous attention to Qatar. I think people learn about these countries, learn about what’s happening in the world in ways they otherwise wouldn’t. So I think the media does its job.

“But … now talking specifically about the NBA, where we’re such a global sport, I think people are a little too dismissive these days about the benefits that come from the commonality around sports. That with a sport like basketball — our finals are distributed virtually everywhere in the world, the sport is played everywhere in the world — it’s an opportunity to bring people together.”

The NBA changed its rules last year to allow sovereign wealth funds to buy minority stakes in NBA teams, increasing the group of potential investors to also include pension funds and university endowments. Like private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds cannot own over 20 percent of a team. No sovereign wealth fund is known to have taken a stake in a team.

Silver said that no Saudi-backed fund has tried to invest in an NBA team.

“We allow funds to invest in teams but not control teams, not to have influence over teams,” Silver said. “So to own an NBA team there has to be an individual with a certain percent of the team to control it.”

That has opened the door for potential investments or attempts at investment by PIF or other sovereign wealth funds, which could bring massive capital and controversy for the league. Many of the largest funds worldwide are associated with countries that have been accused of human rights abuses.

Saudi-backed PIF has already bought Newcastle United, a team in the English Premier League, and was reported as a potential suitor for the WWE. The Saudi government has been accused of cutting off rights for women and girls by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, along with other forms of repression.

The NBA has also grown its business relationship with the United Arab Emirates in recent years, playing exhibition games there this past season. The UAE has been condemned by international human rights groups for its repressive anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

In allowing sovereign wealth funds to buy into a team, the NBA also stipulated that it can deny any interested investor and would closely scrutinize suitors.

(Photo: Ron Chenoy / USA Today)