LIV Golf is preparing for its post-Saudi era with a host of potential changes, increasing its players’ stakes in the league, introducing a new individual tournament element, and pushing hard for investment across every phase of the tour, on and off the course.
Originally funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, LIV Golf will lose access to that funding at the end of its current season. Rather than fold up the tents and shutter the league, LIV officials are attempting to move forward with “LIV 2.0” by tweaking the league’s format in order to appeal to both potential investors and players who might be considering backing out of the league.
Most notably, from the player perspective, LIV will be returning most commercial rights to its players, a source with knowledge of LIV’s operations told Yahoo Sports. What this means in practice is that players could be able to market and monetize their own image in a way that few professional leagues of any sport permit. This, obviously, is an attempt to keep Bryson DeChambeau, LIV’s most valuable **** et and professional golf’s most social media-focused player, in the LIV fold.
“One door closes, another opens,” DeChambeau said prior to LIV’s recent Korea event. “I think that's the way a lot of us are looking at it. I think we all have optimism that there is a business plan that makes sense for team golf.”
LIV has promised to increase player ownership and equity in the league, which, again, is an attempt to keep players with wayward eyes from straying too far from the LIV stable. Ownership, in either the league itself or its individual teams, would obviously give them more incentive both to stay and to promote the league going forward.
Originally funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, LIV Golf will lose access to that funding at the end of its current season. Rather than fold up the tents and shutter the league, LIV officials are attempting to move forward with “LIV 2.0” by tweaking the league’s format in order to appeal to both potential investors and players who might be considering backing out of the league.
Most notably, from the player perspective, LIV will be returning most commercial rights to its players, a source with knowledge of LIV’s operations told Yahoo Sports. What this means in practice is that players could be able to market and monetize their own image in a way that few professional leagues of any sport permit. This, obviously, is an attempt to keep Bryson DeChambeau, LIV’s most valuable **** et and professional golf’s most social media-focused player, in the LIV fold.
“One door closes, another opens,” DeChambeau said prior to LIV’s recent Korea event. “I think that's the way a lot of us are looking at it. I think we all have optimism that there is a business plan that makes sense for team golf.”
LIV has promised to increase player ownership and equity in the league, which, again, is an attempt to keep players with wayward eyes from straying too far from the LIV stable. Ownership, in either the league itself or its individual teams, would obviously give them more incentive both to stay and to promote the league going forward.
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