Rahm Rejects LIV 2.0 as League Seeks Bankruptcy Restructuring
Jon Rahm will leave LIV Golf after rejecting proposed terms for the league’s next iteration, his lawyer told a US bankruptcy court. The departure comes as LIV…
Jon Rahm’s departure lands as LIV Golf seeks a way through bankruptcy without funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. His lawyer told a US bankruptcy court that Rahm will not join the league’s proposed LIV 2.0, dealing a setback to a circuit whose restructuring plan depends partly on player agreements.
John Beck, Rahm’s attorney, announced the decision during a hearing before US Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey Judge Michael B. Kaplan on Wednesday. Beck said Rahm and LIV Golf were working to finalize a separation agreement by Oct. 15.
“Mr. Rahm has independently reviewed the proposed terms of LIV 2.0 and has determined that those terms are unacceptable to him, and he will not be participating going forward in LIV 2.0,” Beck said.
The move leaves uncertainty over where Rahm will play in 2027. It also complicates LIV’s effort to secure new investment while the league tries to keep its competition operating.
Bankruptcy plan rests on conditions
LIV Golf and related entities voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 protection on Sept. 8. Court records listed the league’s assets at between $100 million and $500 million, and its liabilities at between $500 million and $1 billion.
On Monday, LIV filed a restructuring support agreement with the bankruptcy court. It said it could receive a $300 million investment from BC Partners if certain conditions were met. BC Partners’ initial investment was $4 million.
One condition requires the “execution of New Player Agreements consistent with the LIV 2.0 business plan that include players required by BC Partners.” The filing did not identify which players must sign for the investment deal to proceed.
The agreement extended to Oct. 25 the deadline for current LIV golfers to commit to the league. LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil has said the second iteration would feature 10 tournaments with smaller purses.
Rahm was considered a central figure in LIV’s effort to keep the circuit alive. The two-time major champion joined in December 2023, when he was the reigning Masters champion, in a signing the source described as a major coup. He reportedly received a multiyear contract worth more than $300 million.
He won four times in the LIV Golf League and was the circuit’s seasonlong individual champion in each of the past three seasons. Court records also listed Rahm among LIV’s 30 largest unsecured creditors, with $7.5 million in past-due payments. Those figures did not include amounts owed beyond the bankruptcy filing date; the report said he was believed to be owed more than $100 million.
Return to another tour remains unclear
Rahm’s next destination has not been established. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said on Sept. 15 that the tour had no current plans to bring back its Returning Member Program, which could allow Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith to return under certain conditions.
Brooks Koepka used the program to return to the PGA Tour in January. Rahm is also a member of the DP World Tour after resolving his dispute with the European tour in May.
Rahm had previously described his contractual position as difficult. In May, he said he still had several years left on his LIV agreement and saw few ways out. LIV’s bankruptcy has since changed his circumstances.
The financial strain reaches beyond Rahm. Court records listed DeChambeau with $5.7 million in past-due payments, Dustin Johnson with $5.5 million, Smith with $4.8 million, Tyrrell Hatton with $3.4 million and Koepka with $1.7 million. The amounts were among the league’s 30 largest unsecured claims and did not represent all sums potentially owed to the players.
Separately, court records show that Sergio Garcia, a LIV Golf captain and 2017 Masters champion, has been released from his contract. Rahm’s separation agreement is expected to be finalized by Oct. 15.
Source: espn.com
