Is Travelers eyeing Deutsche Bank's playoff spot?

Deutsche Bank's equivocation on extending its sponsorship of a FedEx Cup playoff event has at least piqued the interest of the Travelers Championship of filling the void should one be created.

Earlier this week, Deutsche Bank Americas CEO Seth Waugh said the company was interested in continuing the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second FedEx Cup playoff event, outside Boston, but indicated television might be the key, according to the Boston Globe.

"A big part of the underlying contract is the TV numbers," he said. "We'd certainly like to know the new numbers before we move on. To focus on money is probably the wrong thing. I wouldn't want to hint that we're somehow trying to cut a better deal, that's not what's going on. We're cutting a slightly different deal, if we cut it, which we think is in the best interest of us, the Tour, and the tournament, but it's not because we're going to pay less.''

Deutsche Bank is in the final year of a four-year contract and has an option for two more years.

The New Haven Register, meanwhile, has a story this morning raising the possibility of the Travelers Championship outside Hartford, Conn., stepping in in the event Deutsche Bank decides against continuing.

"It is a very complicated question to answer because there are so many moving parts," Travelers tournament director Nathan Grube told the paper. "Would that date be the best thing for us and for our sponsors? There is a lot to look at. If that question came up again, we'd be interested in talking about it."

-- John Strege