Dude, so private equity firm BC Partners is out here making some wild claims, saying each LIV Golf team could be worth over $100 million in “very short order.” That sounds massive, right? But seriously, the league is straight up struggling to get players to commit to this “reboot,” and stars like Jon Rahm and Joaquín Niemann are hesitating big time. The math just isn’t adding up for these top players when they’re being asked to *fund their own salaries* to own a stake. What gives?
The “White Knight” Pitch With a Catch
LIV CEO Scott O’Neil and investor Ted Goldthorpe hit up the Sportico Invest Conference in London, pitching a plan to ditch the Saudi-backed funding for a more standard business model. Goldthorpe, the new money man on the scene, basically told everyone that the league’s 13 franchises could totally hit those insane valuations. He said, “I think you could easily see a path in very short order to over a $100 million valuation per team. I think that’s a real number.”
But here’s the kicker: BC Partners has only put in $4 million of their promised $300 million investment, and that initial cash is supposed to help the league climb out of bankruptcy. The firm wants players to own a whopping 52.5 percent of the teams to cover the shortfall in prize money. Talk about shifting the financial burden directly onto the guys who are already side-eyeing the league’s future. It’s a huge ask, especially when the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just in early September.
Players Are Asking the Hard Questions
While the investors are talking big money, the players themselves are asking some seriously tough questions about their careers and their time. The deadline for player commitments got pushed back to October 25, just to give them more time to figure out this mess. Adrian Meronk, who just won at St Andrews, laid out his hesitation perfectly. He said he was there “to keep my status, to keep my playing rights for next season.” Meronk added, “Obviously this helps me a lot. So, I’m going to have to re-evaluate my goals, my schedule and how my future will look like.” That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement, is it?
Then there’s Joaquín Niemann, who’s even more skeptical about the timeline for these teams to actually make money. He told Latercera that owning a franchise “might take years to become profitable.” Niemann was straight up with it: “I don’t know if it’s something I want to do at this stage of my career. So, these are questions I have to ask myself before making a decision.”
And if that wasn’t enough, we just saw Sergio Garcia get released from his contract by a New Jersey bankruptcy court. A founding member is looking for the exit! When top names are bailing or holding back, that $100 million valuation claim looks a whole lot more like a sales pitch than actual financial reality, you know?
Goldthorpe says the next 22 days are all about signing players, claiming “We’re all systems go.” But the core problem hasn’t changed: players gotta put their own cash into this thing to make it work. The whole restructuring plan hinges on player equity. If the biggest stars won’t buy in, that flashy valuation model crumbles before it even gets off the ground. What happens next? We’re all watching Jon Rahm’s contract situation, with a court hearing set for November 5. That date could tell us everything.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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