LIV GOLF FEES TO PLAYERS: HOW MUCH DO LIV GOLFERS GET PAID?
LIV Golf fees to players: Take a look at how much Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson et al were paid to join the rival league.
Want to know how much LIV Golf players have been paid?
Well, you’ve come to the right place. GolfMagic has taken a look at how much every golfer was allegedly paid to join the lucrative breakaway tour.
Cameron Smith
Date joined: 30 August 2022
LIV Golf fee: $143m / £122m
Smith has not officially verified the amount of money he received from the breakaway organization upon his departure from the PGA Tour. According to The Guardian, it has been reported that the actual amount received by the winner of the 2022 Open championship was $143m. Smith acknowledged the significance of the money and stated that it was a business decision he could not overlook.
Bryson dechambeau
Date joined: 10 June 2022
LIV Golf fee: $125m / £100m
DeChambeau signed a four-and-a-half year deal with LIV in June 2022.
Once again, the golfer declined to go into details of the financial arrangement when he joined, saying: “A lot of it was up front, which was great.”
Jon Rahm.
Date joined: 8 December 2023
LIV Golf fee: $600m / £476m
Rahm, unsurprisingly, has also refused to say how much money he was paid by LIV when he signed a five-year contract.
The Spaniard claimed in an interview shortly after joining he finds it amusing that people speculate on the real figure.
“I can’t comment on any of that, nor do I want to,” Rahm said of the money.
“It is private and it is going to stay private. Listen, it was a great offer. The money is great, it is wonderful.”
Sergio Garcia
Date joined: June 2022
LIV Golf fee: $40m / £30m
Garcia was one of the first major champions to join LIV and has played in every tournament since its inception.
The 2017 Masters champion has never publicly commented on his LIV Golf contract nor does he appear to ever want to discuss the topic.
“I did it because I think this is the future of golf,” Garcia explained of his decision to join LIV.
Talor Gooch
Date joined: June 2022
LIV Golf fee: $10-20m
Gooch signed a two-year contract with LIV in 2022 and has since gone on to win a mind-boggling amount of money.
He was the circuit’s individual champion for the 2023 campaign, which netted him an $18m bonus on top of his on-course earnings.
In total finished the 2023 LIV Golf season $35.3m richer. His contract details are not public knowledge.
Given other reported figures, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume his fee is in the $10-20m region.
Tyrrell Hatton
Date joined: 30 January 2024
LIV Golf fee: $65m / £50m
Telegraph Sport claim Hatton’s LIV Golf fee was $65m / £50m.
Hatton, like those before him, did not comment on the money but he was up front about the cash by saying: “There is no point in lying.”
Dustin Johnson
Date joined: June 2022
LIV Golf fee: $125m / £100m
Johnson’s agreement has reportedly been valued at an initial sum of $125m, with the possibility of increasing to a maximum of $150m. Johnson has been quite clear about his choice to become a member of LIV.
He explained that his choice to join LIV ultimately boiled down to the offer they presented him with. “An individual is presenting an opportunity to another person where they can continue performing their current job but with reduced office hours and a higher salary.” I am confident that you will win.
If you did not, there must be something wrong with you.
Graeme McDowell
Date joined: June 2022
LIV Golf fee: $20-40m
The Northern Irishman was part of a contingent of ageing European Ryder Cup stars who joined LIV ahead of their first event at Centurion Club.
McDowell was involved in a tense press conference in which he sought to defend his decision to join the Saudi Arabia-backed league.
G-Mac later stated that he regretted taking part in that news conference.
He hasn’t said how much money he was paid by LIV, but it’s assumed McDowell was paid in the region of $20-40m.
“Of course it was about the money, of course it was,” McDowell said in September 2023.
“It didn’t need saying. Of course that’s what I was there for, it was a business decision.”
Adrian Meronk
Date joined: 30 January 2024
LIV Golf fee: $10m / £8m
Telegraph Sport have claimed Meronk agreed a $10m fee with LIV.
Meronk told the publication he likely wouldn’t have joined LIV had he not been ‘snubbed’ for a 2023 Ryder Cup pick.
The 6ft 6ins golfer was largely expected to be named as a wildcard on the European team but captain Luke Donald overlooked him.
Donald’s decision was later vindicated, but Meronk was angry at the decision.
“What happened with the Ryder Cup just opened my eyes as to how everything works,” he said.
Phil Mickelson
Date joined: June 2022
LIV Golf fee: $200m / £160m
Mickelson all-but confirmed his three-year contract was worth $200m when he spoke to reporters at his first news conference as a LIV player.
Pressed on the alleged figure, Mickelson said: “I feel that contract agreements should be private.”
He added: “Doesn’t seem to be the case but it should be.”
Joaquin Niemann.
Date joined: 30 August 2022
LIV Golf fee: $100m / £80m
Niemann was named as LIV recruit in the second half of their inaugural campaign.
The Chilean, who was a rising star on the PGA Tour, is said to have penned a $100m deal.
Thomas Pieters
Date joined: 18 February 2023
LIV Golf fee: $10m / £8m
Pieters was a last-minute addition before the second season roster owing to an injury to American golfer Hudson Swafford.
The Belgian told reporters that he had always had his eyes set on a move to LIV Golf given he never enjoyed life on the PGA Tour.
It is said Pieters signed a $10m deal.
Speaking about the move, he said: “Of course, I have done this with my family and our daughters at the forefront of our thinking.”
Brooks Koepka
Date joined: 23 June 2022
LIV Golf fee: $130m / £105m
Koepka confirmed on the BS w/ Jake Podcast the real reason he joined LIV was ‘for the dough’.
Confirming the nine-figure deal, Koepka said: “Look, I’ll be honest with you – I signed for the dough.
“I’m 100 per cent behind that. I don’t know if tomorrow I’ll get in a car accident and never play golf again but my family is taken care of.
“That was a big thing for me, not doing it for anything else.
“Everybody else, they go to their 9-5, most of them don’t like their 9-5 but they’re doing it cos they get the pay cheque .
“That’s the same thing as us. I enjoy playing golf, I enjoy winning – I’d say I’d do it for free because I love it that much, but at the same time you’ve got to take care of each other.”
Ian poulter
Date joined: June 2022
LIV Golf fee: $20-30m / £15-20m
Poulter got a bit frosty with one reporter when he was pressed on his signing-on fee.
“It’s none of your business,” the Englishman previously said when he was quizzed on the figure.
“But it wasn’t what was reported. People love to exaggerate…just like catching fishes.”
Patrick Reed.
Date joined: 11 June 2022
LIV Golf fee: $50m / £40m
Reed became the ninth major champion to sign with the breakaway.
In truth his LIV Golf fee is unknown but when he joined he was certainly one of the strongest players on the roster.
With more than $37m in PGA Tour prize money earnings, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume his deal was worth north of $50m.
He is, afterall, a Masters champion.
Henrik Stenson
Date joined: July 2022
LIV Golf fee: $50m / £40m
The Swede was stripped of the European Ryder Cup captaincy for joining LIV for what was reported to be a $50m fee.
At the time, an emotional Stenson posted a lengthy statement outlining his position.
He wrote: “Unfortunately my decision to play in LIV events [means] it is not possible for me to continue in my role as Ryder Cup captain.
“This is despite me making specific arrangements with LIV golf, to ensure I could fulfil the obligations of the captaincy.
“While I disagree with this decision, for now it is a decision that I accept.
“Clearly a part of my decision to play in LIV golf events has been commercially driven but the format, schedule and calibre of player were also significant factors. I am committed to growing the game and using the game as a force for good.”
Harold Varner III
Date joined: 12 August 2023
LIV Golf fee: $15m / £10m
When Varner joined LIV he was brutally honest in his reasons for doing so.
“The opportunity to join LIV Golf is simply too good of a financial breakthrough for me to pass by,” he said.
Bubba Watson
Date joined: 29 July 2022
LIV Golf fee: $50m / £50m
Two-time Masters champion Watson is said to have commanded a $50m fee.
Watson said he prayed about whether to make the leap.
In 2024, Watson provided an insight into how the LIV Golf contracts are worked out.
“They’re not just throwing out money randomly,” he said of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
“There is actually a formula of why so-and-so gets this.
“It’s not just some made-up number, it’s an actual real number for a reason.
“They might have added on 5 per cent, they might have added on 2 per cent – depending on who you are.
“They might have added 0.5 per cent for me. There’s a formula out there that we have behind the scenes, it’s not like: ‘here’s a cheque.’
“It’s a real number for a reason.”
Lee Westwood
Joined date: June 2022
Membership fee for LIV Golf: $20-30 million / £15-20 million
Westwood has not disclosed the amount he received for becoming a member of LIV. The former top-ranked English player emphasized that it would have been unwise for him to turn down the offer from LIV. “I have had a longer career compared to most,” Westwood stated upon joining LIV. “It’s been 29 seasons for me, but just like you, I would be foolish to pass up on a pay raise, especially considering my age.”
He further mentioned that competition is beneficial as it motivates individuals to strive harder in order to achieve their desired goals.
“LIV is present, they have made a statement in order to avoid being seen as a danger.” “I don’t see any reason why the Tours cannot coexist given the presence of 14 events from 2024. Competition is beneficial.”
“We have all participated in games in Saudi Arabia previously, we have received permission to play there, and this situation is no exception. I am well-informed about it.”
“I have previously completed what we can now do, which gives us the freedom to choose any location for our play.”
