Rahm's £75 Million Parting Bill: What LIV's Collapse Says About Saudi Sport

Pen in hand, Jon Rahm's face must have remained unreadable. Across the table lay a single figure: £75 million owed to him. He signed — but to waive the money.

The Spanish golfer relinquished all outstanding claims through a separation agreement with LIV Golf. In return, the sole tangible asset he received was the name of the team he captained: Legion XIII. A brand, a number, and an empty wallet. Because those £75 million no longer exist; they sit in bankruptcy court filings, at the top of an unpaid claims list, reduced to a line item.

LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States in September after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund withdrew its multi-billion-dollar backing. Rahm entered the record books as the organisation's largest unsecured creditor — £5.5 million for the 2026 season alone, and £75 million across his complete contract. The remainder of that historic $300 million deal he signed when leaving the PGA Tour in December 2023 now appears as a figure in bankruptcy documents.

BC Partners Credit offered $300 million in financing for a restructuring dubbed LIV 2.0. Rahm's answer was a single word: unacceptable. He chose freedom over money.

It is impossible not to pause here. Rahm's decision is not a personal reckoning; it is an indicator of the collective verdict passed on the project's credibility. There are names like Brooks Koepka who have returned to the PGA Tour. But Rahm leaving £75 million behind puts a number on just how hollow LIV's promise of 'the future of golf' had become.

Saudi sport's grand narrative has been written with purchased clubs, signed contracts, and multi-billion-dollar moves in Formula 1 and boxing. As I noted in my Antonelli piece on 12 October — with the Austin weekend approaching, the Public Investment Fund's indirect footprint in F1 remains strong. The financing for the Fury–Joshua night in Cardiff is holding. But the LIV bankruptcy lands as a different hue within that picture: the golf experiment proved far more fragile than it appeared in the shop window.

Rahm will retain the Legion XIII name; but he cannot use it in TGL, the indoor league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. A victory that is not a victory. The cleanest exit from a liquidation.

The architects of Saudi sport's project now face a question: big money does not guarantee big control. LIV failed to convince athletes and investors alike before withdrawing itself from the stage. Until the next major contract is signed, the pages of this account cannot be considered closed.