Professional golf’s equivalent of a tech startup’s “burn rate” problem has finally caught up with LIV Golf. Some of the sport’s biggest names are about to feel the impact firsthand. Remember when tech companies were throwing money around like confetti during the dot-com boom? Everyone thought the party would never end. Well, guess what happened next? Reality came knocking hard. That’s exactly what’s happening to LIV Golf right now. The Saudi-backed league just delivered some pretty sobering news to its roster.
As per the reports, contract renewals will no longer include those eye-watering upfront payments that initially lured stars away from the PGA Tour. When LIV started throwing around $200 million contracts, everyone knew it couldn’t last forever. But nobody expected the music to stop this quickly. The news broke through Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch in late May 2025. He reported that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund officials made this decision. “LIV told its stars that any contract renewals won’t repeat the huge upfront payments,” Lynch wrote. So, who are the top golfers who would be facing the impact?
Dustin Johnson leads the list of affected superstars. His contract expires at the end of 2025. The 40-year-old captain of 4Aces GC originally received an estimated $200 million guarantee in June 2022. Now he faces renewal negotiations under completely different terms.
Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau follow closely behind. Both players’ contracts expire in December 2026. Koepka signed for approximately $130 million, and DeChambeau received around $125 million during the same recruitment wave.
This policy change represents a fundamental shift from LIV’s original strategy. The league initially used unprecedented financial incentives to attract top talent. Phil Mickelson received $200 million for his defection. Jon Rahm signed for an estimated $450 million in late 2023.
#REPORT — The LIV Golf league has told its players that contract renewals will not include large up front payments that were given upon initially signing. Dustin Johnson’s contract expires this year, Brooks / Bryson expire next year and Rahm is locked up longer term, per… pic.twitter.com/QqIhJWwEjY
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 26, 2025
The implementation timeline coincides with ongoing PGA Tour merger discussions that remain unresolved. Multiple sources confirm the policy takes effect immediately for all future contract negotiations. Players approaching renewal decisions must now weigh career longevity against reduced financial security. DeChambeau recently told Golf Monthly he has no extension negotiations planned as of March 2025. Meanwhile, Johnson’s world ranking has plummeted to 594th due to LIV’s lack of OWGR points recognition.
The stark reality behind this policy shift becomes clear when examining LIV’s financial commitment to date. These massive deals completely disrupted traditional golf economics. However, the guaranteed money well has apparently run dry. The Public Investment Fund has invested nearly $5 billion in LIV Golf overall since 2022. Player guarantees alone account for an estimated $1.3-1.5 billion of that total investment. The financial reality has forced this strategic pivot toward sustainable operations.
The timing creates particularly interesting dynamics for affected players. PGA Tour Signature Events now offer $20 million purses, matching LIV’s exuberant tournament pools. Consequently, the earnings gap between circuits has narrowed significantly. Furthermore, LIV Golf still doesn’t offer Official World Golf Ranking points, and players miss out on Ryder Cup qualification opportunities. These factors become more important when guaranteed money disappears from renewal discussions. While the contract landscape shifts dramatically, LIV Golf isn’t completely losing its financial appeal.
LIV Golf’s format maintains unique financial advantages
Despite contract changes, LIV Golf retains distinctive earning opportunities through its innovative format. The league operates with $25 million purses per regular-season event. These prizes are distributed across individual and team competitions.
Winners earn $4 million each tournament, and even last-place finishers receive $50,000 guaranteed. This creates income security that traditional tours don’t offer. The team component creates additional income streams beyond individual performance. Winning teams split $3 million per event after operational costs. Players retain 40% of team winnings, effectively adding 10% per team member.
LIV’s annual schedule includes 14 regular tournaments plus one Team Championship. Total prize money reaches $400 million yearly across all events. This concentrated wealth creates higher per-event earning potential than traditional tours. The PGA Tour distributes similar total prize money across 49 events annually. DP World Tour events average just $3.6 million purses. On European circuits, winners typically receive only 17% of the total prize money.
The no-cut format guarantees earnings for all 54 participants each week. Traditional tours eliminate roughly half the field after two rounds, creating valuable income security for players struggling with consistency. Additionally, LIV’s shotgun starts compressing tournament action into tighter viewing windows. Teams compete simultaneously across all holes rather than with traditional staggered tee times. This format suits modern television consumption patterns better than golf’s historical approach.
The policy change signals LIV’s evolution toward more sustainable economics. Performance-based compensation now replaces guaranteed payments as the primary earning mechanism. This shift could significantly affect player retention as major contracts expire.
The coming months will test whether LIV’s format advantages outweigh reduced financial guarantees. Players must now evaluate competitive merit against guaranteed income security, a complete reversal from LIV’s original blank-check recruitment strategy. As merger talks between tours continue without resolution, the landscape keeps shifting. The era of guaranteed money in professional golf appears to be ending. Players approaching contract decisions face unprecedented uncertainty about their financial futures.
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