LIV Golf has burned billions backing its PGA disruption, with profitability still years away despite selling team stakes.
Background: LIV Golf launched in 2021 with a bold plan to disrupt the traditional PGA Tour. It promised shorter formats, team-based golf and eye-watering payouts to lure top players away. The league is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which has invested roughly US$5 billion to fuel its rapid growth.
What happened: Now, all that spending has come at a cost. LIV’s UK entity alone has racked up more than $1 billion USD in losses in just two years. And despite the ambition, the LIV CEO has admitted profitability is still five to ten years away.
What else: To help bridge the gap, LIV is now selling stakes in its 13 teams, hoping to value each at around $1 billion USD. The league is also chasing to plug the billion-dollar gap.
What's the key learning?
💡If you look at the history books, most “disruptor” leagues take years, sometimes decades, to actually matter.
💡Take the Indian Premier League, a T20 cricket league in India. It launched in 2008 with flashy auctions and Bollywood vibes, but it didn’t become a financial monster overnight. But now:
💡Major League Soccer tells a similar story. It was founded in 1996, but the league lost money for years before turning the corner. Today, expansion teams sell for $300–500 million USD,
So by copying the franchising model and selling team stakes, LIV hopes to follow a similar path.
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