For the third consecutive year, the subsidiary of LIV Golf responsible for managing tournaments held outside of the United States has recorded significant losses, which, far from decreasing, have continued to rise despite an increase in revenue. The data published in the United Kingdom and analysed by The Athletic confirm that the international division of the circuit —responsible for organising half of the 14 tournaments each season— lost 461.8 million dollars in 2024, compared to 395.9 million in 2023 and 243.7 million in 2022. In total, more than 1.1 billion dollars in accumulated losses since its inception.
The figure is particularly striking because 2024 has been, on paper, the year of greatest commercial growth for LIV. Revenue increased across various lines —sponsorships, ticket sales, licenses, and local agreements— but total expenditure rose even more. According to figures shared by Front Office Sports, LIV Golf Ltd. generated around 64.9 million dollars, but its operating costs amounted to 526.7 million, resulting in a negative margin of nearly eight times the revenue. In other words, the cost structure remains completely misaligned with the ability to generate its own business.
A substantial part of that expenditure comes from payments to players. Although the financial reports do not detail exactly how much is allocated to contracts and bonuses, they are included under the heading of “cost of sales,” which since the league’s creation has totalled 1.34 billion dollars. This figure is equivalent to eleven times the accumulated revenue from the international business up to 2024, and explains why the growth model remains so unprofitable. In simple terms: LIV gains visibility, but each tournament costs much more than it produces.
The contrast with the American circuit is evident. While the PGA Tour receives about 700 million dollars annually for television rights in its domestic market, LIV barely generated 3.2 million for the same concept outside the United States in 2024. Even so, its international structure —which includes events in Australia, Singapore, Spain, or Saudi Arabia— continues to be a strategic priority, partly due to its symbolic value and its role in the global expansion of the project.
Behind the financial muscle remains the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, which shows no signs of withdrawal. The Athletic reported that LIV Golf Investments Ltd, the parent company controlling both the American and British operations, has received capital injections close to 4 billion dollars (3.906 billion) up to the end of 2024. And that flow has not stopped: in 2025, an additional 983.5 million in new shares has already been issued, of which more than 300 million were approved last 22 September.
These funding rounds —directly backed by the PIF— are what sustain the machinery. According to Sports Business Journal, the fund has demanded a series of minimum conditions for 2025 to continue supporting the project: maintaining a specific number of tournaments, guaranteeing certain levels of revenue, and securing a stable television agreement with Fox Sports, something that has not yet been finalised. In parallel, Reuters estimates that the total PIF investment in LIV Golf is already around 5 billion dollars since its creation.
The main beneficiaries, for now, have been the players. LIV has distributed nearly 1.4 billion in prizes since its launch, and has attracted 95 golfers, many of them with eight and nine-figure contracts. The most high-profile example is Jon Rahm, who signed at the beginning of 2024 with a deal worth around 300 million dollars and has already won nearly 75 million more in prizes in just two seasons.
Despite the financial imbalance, there are positive signs for the future. The new CEO, Scott O’Neil, assured that the value of sponsorship contracts has multiplied tenfold in the last year, which could translate into a substantial improvement in revenue in 2025. Additionally, recent agreements with HSBC and Salesforce reinforce the brand’s internationalisation strategy. And in sporting terms, the public response in venues like Adelaide —with record attendance— demonstrates that there is a growing market for this alternative format.
Even so, the great challenge for LIV remains the same as in 2022: turning expenditure into sustainable business. Three years after its debut, the circuit maintains the attention of the golf world and the Saudi Arabian chequebook remains open, but the numbers still do not reflect profitability. As long as the PIF is willing to finance it, the project does not seem at risk, although the question remains: how long can a sporting revolution be sustained with half a billion in losses per season?
