Court docs: LIV Golf dished out millions to top officials as vendors went unpaid

New court filings have revealed the scale of payments made to LIV Golf's senior executives in the months surrounding the breakaway league's bankruptcy filing.

Former commissioner Greg Norman received more than $9.4m in September 2025, several months after he was replaced in the top job. That included a settlement worth around $5.8m and a bonus of $3.6m.

His successor, Scott O'Neil, also received millions in additional payments before LIV sought bankruptcy protection.

According to the league's financial disclosures, O'Neil was paid a $6.375m retention bonus on June 24. That followed a separate bonus of approximately $2.7m in February.

Between September 2025 and August 2026, O'Neil received more than $13.6m in salary, bonuses, benefits, retention payments and expense reimbursements.

He was not alone. 

LIV paid approximately $15.6m in retention bonuses to several other senior executives. Chief financial officer David Phillips received more than $3.3m, while chief legal officer John Ruzich was paid around $2.6m.

The payments are noteworthy given LIV was failing to pay vendors and contractors for their work this year, leading to several lawsuits. 

Fresh Tape Media, which produced LIV's pre-season media event in January, is seeking $1.23m. 

Mobii Systems, which supplied the league's 'Any Shot, Any Time' streaming feature, claims to be owed $1.1m. 

Fantasy Interactive, which built and maintained LIV's app and website, says it is owed $992,870.75 in unpaid invoices. 

In August, O'Neil said the league was "doing everything we can to make sure we can do right by them." 

LIV also laid off more than 90 per cent of its staff in September.

The disclosures come as LIV attempts to secure its long-term future.

The league and its affiliated companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States on September 8. 

Court documents listed assets of between $100m and $500m, against liabilities ranging from $500m to $1bn.

LIV is now exploring a potential restructuring that could pave the way for a new version of the circuit, dubbed LIV 2.0.

London-based private equity firm BC Partners has emerged as a potential financial backer.

A court-approved restructuring arrangement could provide up to $300m in funding, including an initial $4m loan to keep the business running during bankruptcy proceedings.

BC Partners has since confirmed its initial financial commitment. 

However, access to the wider investment depends on LIV meeting a number of conditions.

One of the most significant is retaining a sufficient proportion of its players.

The deadline for securing player commitments was initially set for October 13 before being extended to October 25. 

Under the proposed restructuring, players could eventually acquire majority ownership of the league through equity stakes.

Whether LIV can retain enough of its roster remains a key question. 

Over the past week, several big names have stated they will not be part of LIV's new era. 

GolfMagic is currently tracking which LIV players are leaving, committed or undecided.