Jon Rahm agrees LIV Golf separation deal, Gives up remaining contract claims

Jon Rahm has reached an agreement to separate from LIV Golf, waiving his financial claims against the league in exchange for retaining his name, image and likeness rights, according to court documents.

The agreement was outlined in documents filed on Wednesday in bankruptcy court. It follows comments from Rahm’s lawyer to US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey Judge Michael Kaplan last week, confirming that the Spaniard would not return to LIV under the proposed new financial arrangements.

Kaplan is expected to rule on the separation agreement next month, by which time the future of LIV Golf in 2027 could become clearer.

The league lost its previous Saudi funding earlier this year and completed a shortened 2026 season in August, with Rahm claiming his third consecutive LIV Golf season title.

The two-time major champion was LIV’s largest unsecured creditor when the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, with $7.5 million (£5.7 million) listed as owed to him. However, the 31-year-old was reportedly entitled to considerably more under his contract, which was valued at approximately $300 million (£226.2 million) when he left the PGA Tour for LIV in December 2023.

Rahm, who won the 2021 US Open and the 2023 Masters, has enjoyed considerable success on the breakaway circuit. He captured four LIV Golf tournament victories, winning in the UK and Chicago in 2024 before adding titles in Hong Kong and Mexico City in 2026.

Under the separation agreement, LIV Golf will retain the right to reference Rahm’s participation in its past tournaments for historical purposes. Meanwhile, Rahm will regain control of his name, image and likeness, along with the “Rahmbo” and “Legion XIII” brands. However, the use of the Legion XIII team name in another league will remain restricted.

Rahm is not the only prominent LIV player to resist a return to the PGA Tour. Fellow stars Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau also rejected a PGA Tour returning-member programme that concluded earlier this year.

The programme enabled Brooks Koepka to return to the PGA Tour after leaving for LIV Golf, but Rahm, Smith and DeChambeau have taken different paths as the future of professional golf continues to evolve.