Tiger Woods was reported to have turned down a massive offer from LIV Golf when he decided to remain with the PGA Tour, but the perception of the deal the Saudi-backed league offered him is a bit off.
Greg Norman, the CEO of LIV and one of its founders, perpetuated rumors earlier this year that Woods turned down somewhere in the neighborhood of $700-800 million from LIV. That total — if guaranteed — would have dwarfed the reported $200 million that Phil Mickelson got and $125 million that has been promised to Dustin Johnson.
Norman even said during an interview with FOX’s Tucker Carlson that the reported figures of the contract that was proposed to Tiger were accurate. However, he later walked back the comments and said Woods was “never offered that cash value.” Norman’s more recent comments mesh with what Saudi Golf Federation CEO Majed Al Sorour told Zach Helfand of the New Yorker in a story that was published on Monday.
“It’s not straight-out money. I never offered him that money, not even close to that,” Sorour said.
While Woods was likely offered more guaranteed money than any other golfer, he would have essentially had to bet on and commit to growing LIV Golf. His compensation would have stemmed from equity in the league and a cut of sponsorship deals.
Of course, it is possible that Tiger would have rejected the LIV offer no matter how much he stood to make. He is already one of the wealthiest athletes in the world, and he has been openly critical of LIV and its format. He seems to genuinely want nothing to do with it.
H/T Golf.com
