LIV Golf agent lifts lid on Jon Rahm's messy contract situation: "It's a total clusterf---!"

Jon Rahm may be able to get out of his LIV Golf contract at the end of 2026 but it will not be easy, according to an agent who works for a player on the breakaway tour.  

Rahm joined the PIF-backed league in December 2023 and it's understood the reported $300m (£222m) deal he penned will see the Spanish two-time major champion through to the end of the 2029.

But his future has come into sharp focus in recent months after it was confirmed Saudi Arabia will no longer finance LIV Golf after the conclusion of the 2026 season. 

Recent reporting from the Financial Times indicates that, despite a recent cash injection from the PIF earlier this month, senior LIV executives remain uncertain whether the additional funding needed to stage their remaining U.S. events will arrive. 

"Every remaining tournament is on ​the fence," the executive told the publication. 

In that scenario, Rahm and other golfers tied down to multimillion dollar deals may try and exit stage left, arguing their contracts are void. 

But that process, according to Skratch's Alan Shipnuck, will not be easy. 

His recent report quotes two LIV agents, speaking on the condition of anonymity, with one describing Rahm's situation as a "total clusterf---"

"The contract we signed calls for 14 tournaments with purses of at least $25m," the agent said.  

"If they put together a smaller schedule for less money, which is obviously the only path forward, the contract we signed is voided. 

"At least, that’s how we see it. If they disagree, the lawyers are going to have to sort it out.”

Should the lawyers get involved, there also remains the question of who has jurisdiction. 

Another agent told Shipnuck: "LIV has offices in New York, Palm Beach and London. And obviously the PIF is based in Saudi. 

"Where does a lawsuit get filed? What are the enforcement mechanisms? 

"Would the players be able to play while this is getting decided or would they be put in some kind of enforced limbo? 

"The whole thing is a mess. So when Jon Rahm says he has no idea how his deal works, he’s probably being accurate, because nobody does."

For his part, Rahm has been careful not to say what he would do if LIV Golf doesn't survive. 

Speaking to reporters before last month's PGA Championship, the former Masters champion said he "wasn't too worried" about LIV's future and insisted it was not his job to fix their financial problems. 

And before teeing it up in Spain last week, Rahm said he would not be following in the footsteps of Bryson DeChambeau and getting personally involved in pitching LIV Golf 2.0 to investors. 

"My job is to play golf," Rahm said. 

"I don't have the free time that Bryson has to be flying around the country to attend meetings with three little ones and one on the way. 

"Even if I wanted to, I don't know if I could do it."

 

Should LIV Golf not survive then it seems more than plausible that Rahm would attempt to return to the PGA Tour. 

Even when he joined the league, Rahm expressed a desire to split his schedule across LIV, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. 

But that will likely come at a price.

Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee recently claimed on the Talking Golf podcast that Rahm's price to return to the PGA Tour will cost him more than Brooks Koepka. 

"He’s going to have to pay tens of, if not hundreds of, millions of dollars if he wants come back and play on the PGA Tour,” he said.

"That’s what he was paid to go to LIV. If he wants to come back, he’s gonna have to pay for the privilege. 

"You want to be a part of this, get in line."

Rahm never resigned his membership from the PGA Tour so he has been in breach of its rules for the past two-and-a-half years.