LIV Golf is showing no signs of disappearing from the golf landscape, and neither is the amount of money the Saudi Arabia-backed league is haemorrhaging with each passing season.
MORE: Greg Norman breaks silence on LIV Golf exit in EXCLUSIVE interview
The Athletic and its sports business writer based in the United Kingdom, Chris Weatherspoon, reported on Saturday (AEST) that UK-based LIV Golf Ltd, which runs the league’s activities outside of the US, lost £461.8 million, or $A942.79 million, in 2024. That brings the total losses for only that entity of the circuit, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, to $2.25 billion (£1.1 billion) since the league started holding golf tournaments in 2022.
According to The Athletic, public filings for LIV Golf Investments Ltd, which owns both the UK company and LIV Golf Inc. in the US, raised equity injections of nearly $4 billion through the end of 2024.
The total, of course, does not include the entire 2025 season in which LIV staged 14 events. The Athletic reported that an additional $US983.5 million in shares have been issued for LIV Golf Investments, including $309.2 million as recently as September 22.
The Athletic said that while LIV Golf Ltd’s filings do not fully disclose the amount of money paid to players, that spending is part of the business’ cost of sales, and that total was $US1.34 billion (£2 billion) since the league’s inception – nearly 11 times the revenue in the same period through ’24.
As noted in the story, LIV is earning a paltry amount in broadcast rights outside the US compared to what the PGA Tour commands in America. LIV got £2.8 million ($5.7 million) for 2024, while the US-based circuit gets $US700 million per year from its television partners in a deal that runs through 2030.
Those who have most benefitted from LIV Golf? The players, on both sides of the divide. In LIV, some of the most high-profile players signed eight- and nine-figure contracts to defect from the PGA Tour, and 95 golfers total have since played for just under $US1.4 billion in prizemoney.
The Athletic noted the example of two-time major winner Jon Rahm, who left for LIV at the beginning of 2024 and already has made $US75 million in two seasons, beyond the $300 million the Spaniard reportedly will get for his multi-year contract.
