New York (AFP) – Jon Rahm has reached a separation agreement with LIV Golf, according to court documents, waiving all financial claims against the series in exchange for his name and image rights. The deal, detailed in bankruptcy court documents filed Wednesday, followed Rahm’s lawyer telling US Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey Judge Michael Kaplan last week that Rahm would not return to LIV under proposed new financial plans. Kaplan must approve Rahm’s split agreement with LIV next month, by which time LIV’s fate for 2027 will likely be determined.
LIV’s prior Saudi funding was dropped earlier this year and the series completed a reduced 2026 campaign in August with Rahm winning his third consecutive LIV season crown. The two-time major champion from Spain was LIV’s largest unsecured creditor with $7.5 million owed when LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month. Spaniard Rahm, 31, was thought to have been owed much more after signing a deal worth a reported $300 million to leave the PGA Tour for LIV in December 2023.
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Rahm, the 2021 US Open and 2023 Masters winner, won four LIV events — UK and Chicago in 2024 and Hong Kong and Mexico City this year. LIV will keep Rahm’s rights for historical context from his playing in past events, while Rahm will have his image and likeness as well as “Rahmbo” and “Legion XIII” brands, provided the name of Rahm’s LIV team is not used in another league.
Rahm and LIV rivals Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau rejected a PGA Tour returning member program that ended earlier this year under which Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA after jumping to LIV.
© 2024 AFP
