Jon Rahm Waives Reported $100M Claim Against Bankrupt LIV Golf in Exit Deal

Since LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in September, after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund withdrew its multibillion-dollar backing, the league's most expensive player has now negotiated his way out. Jon Rahm has reached a separation agreement that ends his time at LIV and wipes out his claim on the money the league owed him.

The number is large. ESPN reported Rahm is owed about $100 million (£75 million) from the remainder of the $300 million (£222 million) contract he signed in December 2023 when he left the PGA Tour. Bankruptcy documents listed him as LIV's top unsecured creditor, with $7.4 million (£5.5 million) owed for the rest of the 2026 season alone, according to the BBC. Golf Magic put that same figure at $7.5 million.

He is leaving all of it on the table.

What Rahm gets and what he gives up

Rahm has waived his entire claim in exchange for what his lawyer, John Beck, described as a "complete economic walk away." Court documents show he regains his name, image and likeness rights as part of the deal.

He also takes the rights to Legion XIII, the name of the LIV team he captained. There is a restriction attached: he cannot use the name to form a team in TGL, the indoor golf league launched by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

According to Beck, Rahm deemed the terms for "LIV 2.0" "unacceptable." The sources do not spell out which terms were the problem.

LIV's restructuring plan

LIV has secured a possible $300 million in financing from BC Partners Credit to try to move forward with a restructured league. That is the plan whose terms Rahm turned down.

The league is hoping to emerge in 2027 with a new-look operation. Rahm is a significant piece of that equation. He won his third straight LIV season title in August and was the most high-profile name to leave the PGA Tour for LIV.

Rahm had previously said he had no regrets over joining LIV and backed organisers to make it sustainable. His exit is a different answer on whether the revamped version can be.

The road back

Rahm's route to the PGA Tour is not the same as Brooks Koepka's. The PGA Tour rewrote its rules in December to let the five-time major winner return, subject to certain sanctions. Rahm did not follow suit and remained under his long-term LIV contract.

In May, he reached a deal with the DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, to retain his membership and remain eligible for next year's Ryder Cup. LIV golfers are automatically banned from the PGA Tour for a year, so the DP World Tour offers a pathway: the leading 10 players on the European circuit currently gain access to PGA Tour membership.

Rahm has not announced what he plans to do next. Golf Magic reported it is likely he spends 2027 on the DP World Tour with the hope of returning to the North American circuit in 2028. That is that outlet's expectation, not something Rahm has said.

The money question

The $100 million figure comes from ESPN's reporting on the contract's remaining value, and the BBC describes the £75 million Rahm is giving up as a reported sum. The $7.4 million owed for this season is the figure listed in the bankruptcy documents, though Golf Magic reported it as $7.5 million. Treat the larger total as a reported estimate.

What is documented is the structure: a player with a nine-figure contract, a league whose financial backer left, and a creditor who decided a clean exit was worth more than his claim. By waiving the entire claim, Rahm gives up his place among LIV's unsecured creditors.

The next test is whether LIV can use the BC Partners financing to field a 2027 league without its three-time reigning champion. The sources do not say who, if anyone, replaces him as the face of the relaunch.