We’ve known since the beginning how empty and shallow the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour is. Now in Year 2, and after the shock of all the big, flashy contracts has worn off, the reality of how difficult it is to start up a new league is beginning to sink in.
After all, what good is having a roster full of washed-up stars when no one is even tuning in to watch them?
The floundering start has already led to some executives getting laid off and sponsorships have been hard to come by. Yet players who were willing to accept an indefinite PGA Tour suspension to defect over to LIV don’t have any buyer’s remorse.
But that’s probably because they can’t afford to.
Remember those eye-popping signing bonuses LIV couldn’t stop handing out last year? The reported $125 million for Dustin Johnson, $100 million for Brooks Koepka and $200 million for Phil Mickelson?
Well should any of those players attempt to leave LIV Golf, they’ll have to pay back up to quadruple the amount the were given, per Sports Illustrated’s Alex Miceli:
None want to play a full season on the PGA Tour, which is good because their LIV contracts, while not prohibiting them from playing a full schedule on another tour, does force them to honor their commitment to LIV and if for some reason they wanted to leave LIV, the penalty clause is two, three or four times their signing bonus to break their agreement.
This penalty clause effectively keeps the players part of the LIV stable until the contract expires after the 2025 season.
Now comes the part where we throw our heads back and laugh.
At the same rate he was winning on Tour it would take about, oh, 100 years to earn that amount. The majority of the money he earned on Tour came while he was one of the top-ranked players in the world.
He’s now ranked 68th overall, by the way.
So much for playing less to make more money.