A LIV player group is seeking $100 million in “severance payments” as part of a wind-down of the league’s first iteration — the latest reminder that, if there’s any hope for LIV’s future, it’ll first have to deal with its past.
A New York Times report came ahead of Sunday’s deadline for player commitments to LIV 2.0. The report stated that a group of players led by Dustin Johnson — and represented by Johnson’s lawyer — is hoping to negotiate with LIV’s original backers, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, for more than $100 million in unpaid contracts. (The deadline for commitments to the new BC Partners-backed edition of the league, which was flexible, is now expected to be pushed back.)
Johnson’s lawyer, David Cornwell, told the Times that the PIF’s treatment of LIV golfers sets a dangerous precedent for sports leagues.
“The PIF’s treatment of LIV golfers may signal how it will treat professional athletes in other sports,” he said. “How you do one thing is usually how you do everything.”
The player group also reportedly includes Bubba Watson as well as Johnson’s former 4Aces teammates Thomas Detry.
The report also comes amidst an ongoing parade of player exits from LIV. Jon Rahm, LIV’s top-ranked golfer, has announced he’s out. So have others including Tyrrell Hatton, Ian Poulter, Louis Oosthuizen, David Puig, Charles Howell III, Lucas Herbert, Abraham Ancer and Thomas Pieters.
(Where they’ll play next is a nuanced — and controversial — question.)
A handful of LIV golfers have publicly expressed their willingness to join LIV 2.0, and the Financial Times reports that 15 players have “tentatively committed” to the league’s next iteration.
But this latest player group serves as reminder of LIV 2.0’s greatest challenge: LIV 1.0 still owes so much money to so many people.
Bankruptcy documents filed earlier this week shed further light on exactly who has — and hasn’t — been paid. While executives collected more than $15 million since the PIF withdrew its funding (and before the league declared bankruptcy), a lengthy list from vendors to broadcasters to organizations to players are still fighting for scraps. The Times reported that the PIF offered “two cents on the dollar” on the $100 million sum.
The LIV golfer with the most mysterious future remains Bryson DeChambeau, who has previously expressed his desire to remain part of the league but hasn’t spoken publicly on the matter in quite some time. He is among the league’s largest creditors but is not part of Johnson’s group.
Cornwell made it clear that the resolution of this severance payment request will directly influence the group’s willingness to continue with the league.
“The decision to release potential claims against the PIF and join LIV 2.0 will be influenced largely by how the PIF manages the wind-up of LIV 1.0,” he said.
You can read the full Times report here.
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