BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Will LIV Golf really live to see another season?
An answer to that question came into focus — well, sort of — Wednesday morning when the league’s CEO, Scott O’Neil, made a hastily scheduled appearance in the media center here at Trump Bedminster and announced to a room full of reporters, LIV staffers and other interested observers that the league has an agreement in place with a “lead” investor to fund the operation beyond the 2026 season.
O’Neil’s presser was light on detail in terms of the particulars of the deal, but between his remarks and additional information GOLF.com has learned, here’s what we know (and don’t know):
Who’s the investor?
O’Neil declined to say. Ditto the funder’s financial commitment. The league reportedly has been seeking capital in the $300 million range, which is a long way from the billions, by way of the Saudi Public Investment, that fueled the league for its first five seasons, and means LIV’s so-called 2.0 edition would or will look markedly different from what it was conceived to be.
How would the league operate on millions instead of billions?
Part of the answer seems to lie in how players would be paid out: via ownership in the league instead of lucrative annual salaries. (“This second bite at the apple is equity instead of cash,” O’Neil said.) For LIV’s biggest stars, some of whom have been enjoying the windfall of nine-figure contracts, it’s hard to figure how an equity arrangement for a diminished league would equate to anywhere close to the kind of money they’ve been making. But O’Neil said some players “love that responsibility” of having more control over their own financial destiny. “The way they engage the media, the way they work with our partners,” he said.
Players would also stand to make less on the course, with only 10 events on the new proposed schedule (five in the U.S., in the weeks before the majors, and five overseas), down from 14 in 2026. Or what was supposed to be 14; LIV cancelled its New Orleans event this season and the status of its season-ending team event in Michigan next month remains very much in doubt. A league source says projected 2027 average player event earnings would be “greater than or equal to the PGA Tour’s dual-track system and far exceeding the DP World Tour.” But the league has offered no detail about actual purse amounts.
The source added that players also would be free to play in any and all non-LIV events for which they are eligible or invited.
What did O’Neil say about the team event?
Not much!
“We have not made any final formal decisions and hope to in the coming weeks,” he said. “We are all working tirelessly to do everything we can to deliver the events of this season. Some of the stuff is completely in our control. Some of the stuff is not. We are working to deliver the best we can.”
Back to the deal. What would prevent it from being finalized?
O’Neil said the deal had been approved by LIV’s board, and that the league and its investor have a “certain time frame” by which they are aiming to make the agreement official. With both sides on board in principle, what could prevent a deal from happening? O’Neil was coy when asked this question, saying only that LIV’s interested funder is “an investor of weight, and we’re all locked in on making it happen. So I haven’t spent a lot of time on thinking about what might not make it happen.” When I asked O’Neil whether a finalized deal would guarantee a 2027 season, he said, “And ’28 and ’29 and ’30.”
Have any other investors showed interest?
O’Neil said in a statement issued Wednesday morning that the league has seen “strong interest from more than a dozen additional parties to potentially serve as minority investors, creating a multi-partner model built for long-term stability and growth.” But he was less expansive and effusive on this subject in his presser, saying, “We have that opportunity. We don’t need them, but we have the opportunity to do it.”
Any other carrots on the table for the players?
There is at least one: O’Neil said the league plans to return “some” NIL rights back to its players. “There’s a whole formula there we’re walking players through,” he said. The details of that formula are unknown but presumably critical to players like Bryson DeChambeau who have amassed huge followings (and revenue streams) on their personal social channels.
Will Bryson stick around?
That remains the [insert your favorite dollar figure] question. At a players-only meeting here at Trump Bedminster, DeChambeau, who has been active in the league’s investor-courting process, took the reins and shared what he knew about the state of LIV, which would suggest that he’s still committed to whatever the league could or might become. Asked about the importance of DeChambeau and LIV’s other blue-chipper, Jon Rahm, to LIV’s viability, O’Neil acknowledged their marketing muscle but also was quick to shine a light on LIV’s other players.
“Would certainly love them to come along for the ride and journey, because they carry maybe more weight than anybody in the game and I have a lot of time for that,” O’Neil said. “I think we have enough support from enough players, and we have such an interesting format and global format, I think we’ll do quite well in getting the right stars for this game.”
How will LIV pay out its existing contracts?
For players who are owed tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars, that question is surely top of mind. Same goes for any vendors that might be owed payment. LIV’s debt is significant. O’Neil wasn’t asked directly about any outstanding payouts but he was asked whether there would be need for bankruptcy restructuring “to deal with the legacy liabilities.”
“We want to make sure that we are giving ourselves the best opportunity to do what’s best for this organization to carry forward,” he said. “We’ll consider the best options at that time. That’s not a decision we have to make, and we’ll continue to do what’s best.”
What’s the takeaway here?
Tough one to read. Word on the ground at Bedminster is that the players have been getting antsy and are understandably hungry for information so they can make decisions about their next steps, be those with LIV or another tour. Wednesday’s news might help put some players at ease but it’s also so light on specifics that it might also make players feel even more uneasy.
Lucas Herbert, who has won two LIV events this season and tied for 6th at the Open Championship last month, said Tuesday that his management team has had discussions with the PGA Tour about what a path back might look like — and PGA Tour CEO Brain Rolapp will tell you that Herbert’s team has not been alone on that front.
“If LIV were to go away and you’ve got nowhere to play, I think ultimately you need somewhere to play as a professional golfer,” Herbert said. “So we’re just doing due diligence, having that conversation. As I said, I haven’t had it personally, and my preference would be to still be playing out here if that was still an option.”
