LIV Golf lawyer shares damaging contract rumor
June 10, 2022; St. Albans, UK; LIV golf chief executive Greg Norman looks on during the second round of the inaugural LIV golf invitational golf tournament at the Centurion Club. Mandatory Credit: Paul Childs-Action Images/Reuters via USA TODAY Sports
A LIV Golf attorney on Tuesday shared a potentially damaging rumor about player contracts and earnings.
Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee recently took some heat for saying that LIV Golf player earnings are recouped against player contracts. In court on Tuesday for the temporary restraining order request, a LIV Golf attorney said that player earnings are recouped against contracts.
The LIV lawyer just said that the money won in tournaments is "recouped against the LIV contracts".
— Rick Gehman (@RickRunGood) August 9, 2022
The notable claim drew attention online for obvious reasons. If players are not paid prize money on top of their contracts, that would mean the players are not playing for great financial stakes, thereby diminishing the value of events.
However, a LIV spokesperson addressed the issue during a press conference at the LIV Golf Invitational Series event in Portland in early July.
“The prize purses are in addition to, there is no draw at LIV Golf on any finances. On the record, it’s in addition to,” the spokesperson said.
Here's video to the contrary.pic.twitter.com/D0b9T4nyoL https://t.co/SwHyQUostR
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) August 9, 2022
The attorney said something different from what the spokesperson said last month.
Though there is uncertainty surrounding the matter, the nature of the confusion might be due to differences in individual contracts. The winnings for some players with large guarantees might go against those guarantees, helping them to reach a point where they can earn in excess of their guarantees more quickly. Those with smaller signing bonuses/guarantees might receive their event earnings immediately.