Getty Image / Hector Vivas
The second season of the upstart LIV Golf Tour kicked off in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula over the weekend with CH3 winning at Mayakoba. The TV ratings weren’t spectacular but they still have time to find an audience.
Charles Howell III earned $4 million for winning the Mayakoba Invitational, or just under 10% of his career PGA Tour earnings of $42,025,458.
That’s a pretty glorious payday for a 43-year-old golfer who never won a major and only had 1 win on the PGA Tour since 2007 (3 PGA Tour wins in total). And money is great so there’s nothing for LIV Golf Tour members to complain about, right? Well…
Attorney John Nucci who is the Chief Golf Law Correspondent at Conduct Detrimental put together an extensive list of LIV Golf contract restrictions. Some of these seem obvious but others are big revelations and very intrusive.
Comprehensive List Of LIV Golf Contract Restrictions
In a recent Twitter thread, attorney John Nucci listed out all the LIV Golf contract restrictions that have been revealed through recent court filings:
1. Players must play in every LIV event as a fundamental condition of their contract, and LIV retains "sole discretion" in the number, location, or dates of events.
LIV has already exercised that discretion to increase the # of events from 8 to 14, not including the 4 majors.
— John Nucci (@JNucci23) February 25, 2023
The apparel portion of #3 makes sense given recent changes in the golf world.
3. Players must wear LIV team apparel in LIV events, non-LIV tournaments, and other events in which they must participate.
— John Nucci (@JNucci23) February 25, 2023
Required self-promotion from professional athletes:
5. Players are required to use their social media platforms to promote LIV.
— John Nucci (@JNucci23) February 25, 2023
Does this hint at a future LIV Golf mini-documentary in the works?
7. Players must lend their likenesses to content creation, including photoshoots/video content, participate in a mini-series documentary series, and agree to their inclusion in LIV marketing materials.
— John Nucci (@JNucci23) February 25, 2023
Corporate sponsor meetings with players and execs:
9. Players are required to participate in and assist LIV with meetings, negotiations and/or other activities with corporate sponsors, including team promotional activities and league activities.
— John Nucci (@JNucci23) February 25, 2023
It appears as if they’re handcuffed on what they can/cannot say:
11. Players must not make statements or commit acts in public forums that are: false, defamatory, slanderous, or that may adversely affect the reputation or public image of any “relevant person.”
Relevant persons includes LIV shareholders, like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
— John Nucci (@JNucci23) February 25, 2023
This is where things stand as of now:
In August 2022, Judge Beth Freeman, who is overseeing the case, remarked the following about LIV contracts:
“[These contracts] lock up these players in ways that the PGA Tour never imagined. They are so restrictive."
— John Nucci (@JNucci23) February 25, 2023
Of course, none of this really has any bearing on the product/fan-facing side of the LIV Golf tour. And these LIV Golf players are being paid massive fortunes.
But it is worth pondering if these restrictions are worth it for all the players. Especially when there were recent rumors of ‘buyer’s remorse.’