LIV Golf may file for bankruptcy protection as soon as next week, according to the Financial Times. The report says the league is negotiating financing for a smaller version of the circuit set to launch in 2027. The move comes as financial backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund nears its end. PIF has put more than $5 billion into LIV since the league launched in 2022, but the fund said in April it would cut off support at the close of the 2026 season.
LIV recently laid off most of its staff. A league spokesperson told Golf Digest, “The funding commitment announced by PIF earlier this year will reach its conclusion. As a result, we are scaling back operations as we transition to the next chapter of LIV Golf and work toward making LIV 2.0 a reality.” Per the FT, LIV has also sent settlement offers to current players who are still owed guaranteed money beyond 2026. Initial offers reportedly came in at just a few cents on the dollar.
The league has been in talks with the credit arm of private capital firm BC Partners to help finance the reworked league, referred to internally as LIV 2.0. BC Partners is reportedly reviewing more than $5 billion in LIV’s net operating losses across the U.S. and U.K. as part of its evaluation, and Liberty Strategic Capital has also shown preliminary interest, according to the report.
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The restructuring could take the form of a prepackaged bankruptcy. Under that plan, golfers would settle their existing claims against LIV while negotiating equity stakes and other terms in the reconstituted league. Players would reportedly fall into three groups: those who settle and join LIV 2.0, those who settle and leave the league entirely, and those who reject the terms and pursue the full value of their contracts as unsecured creditors in bankruptcy court. The FT reports the filing could come in the federal district court of New Jersey, with PIF expected to provide a bankruptcy loan of less than $100 million but no commitment to additional funding beyond that.
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LIV has struggled to lock down commitments from enough top golfers to satisfy BC Partners and other potential investors, per the report. A filing could still move forward even if financing and player agreements for LIV 2.0 remain unfinished. The proposed LIV 2.0 would feature a global schedule of around 10 tournaments, according to the FT’s reporting.
Tournament vendors have already filed multiple lawsuits against LIV over unpaid fees. LIV CEO Scott O’Neil has continued to voice support for the league’s next phase as it searches for a sustainable structure beyond PIF’s involvement, with three events remaining on the 2026 calendar.
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The bankruptcy talk follows weeks of uncertainty about LIV’s future. Most of the league’s workforce was informed their roles under the current operation would end in the first week of September. LIV executives have framed the restructuring as a transition rather than a shutdown, positioning LIV 2.0 as the league’s path forward once PIF funding ends. For now, neither LIV Golf nor PIF has confirmed the FT’s report.
The coming weeks are expected to determine which direction LIV’s roster takes. Players with guaranteed contracts extending past 2026 will need to decide whether to accept reduced settlements and stay on for LIV 2.0, take a settlement and walk away, or fight for the full value of their deals through bankruptcy proceedings.
