Report Shows LIV Golf Is Losing Money at an Alarming Rate
The upstate league incurred a $400 million USD operating loss in 2023.
Getting a new tour off the ground was never going to be easy, and most assumed investment would have to outweigh the returns for LIV Golf in the initial stages. But a new report from Money In Sport, a newsletter distributed through Substack which analyzes financial records, shows that the upstart league lost close to $400 million USD at its LIV Golf International tournaments in 2023. What’s more, the total investment from the Saudi PIF in LIV now reaches roughly $4 billion USD worldwide and could approach $5 billion by the end of this year.
There are additional findings of interest based on the LIV Golf financials that were analyzed by Money In Sport. LIV Golf Adelaide is widely considered one of the league’s most successful tournaments where the local audience has embraced the “Golf But Louder” concept. And this assessment doesn’t just meet the eye test, in fact the tournament accounted for 45% of total revenue outside the US in 2023. The report goes on to reveal that per-tournament operating costs came out to $10 million USD in 2022 and that the company’s largest expenses are down to legal and professional fees.
It will be intriguing to see whether LIV can break the pattern in 2025. The company recently secured a major victory in reaching a broadcast deal with FOX Sports. And while some of the individual teams are finding more success obtaining sponsorship dollars, the key will be whether LIV can re-up its player contracts as they approach expiration.
