LIV Golf made ‘virtually zero’ money in 2022
LIV Golf’s first season was a smash hit, as long as you don’t look at how much money the organization actually made.
The Saudi-backed golf league that made headlines in 2022 by offering huge contracts to some of golf’s biggest names and luring more than a dozen of them away from the PGA Tour, n earned zero dollars in 2022.
In a motion filed in U.S. District Court on Monday, LIV’s attorneys wrote that their clients made “virtually no” money in 2022.
“A delay will also harm LIV as the Tour continues its anti-competitive behavior while litigation is pending,” the attorneys wrote. “The Tour damaged LIV’s brand, drove up its costs by hundreds of millions of dollars and cut its revenue to virtually zero.”
Team Captain Dustin Johnson of 4 Aces GC putts on the 18th green during the Team Championship Round of the LIV Golf Invitational – Miami at Trump National Doral Miami on October 30, 2022 in Doral, Florida. (Charles Laberge/LIV Golf via Getty Images)
You read correctly. They made “virtually zero” dollars.
But even that is not entirely accurate. When you calculate what they spent, they actually lost hundreds of millions of dollars.
“LIV Golf’s former president and chief operating officer, Atul Khosla, told ESPN in October that the Public Investment Fund spent approximately $784 million to fund the circuit’s first season in 2022, including employee salaries, tournament construction and production costs for broadcasting LIV events on social media and its official website.
Marc Leishman of Punch GC drinks champagne on the podium after the Team Championship Round of the LIV Golf Invitational – Miami at Trump National Doral Miami on October 30, 2022 in Doral, Florida. (Eric Espada/Getty Images)
It’s true that if anyone has money to burn, it’s the Saudis. But how much money are they willing to spend? It looks like we’re going to find out. It also doesn’t look like the financial difficulties will go away anytime soon.
LIV’s “big” TV deal is with the CW. A network barely at the forefront of the major American sports viewing platforms.
Either way, the Saudis can fund LIV until it becomes profitable, or they get bored. But, if the rival golf league turns out to be a short-lived venture, these PGA Tour defectors could find themselves with no league to play in.
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