LIV Golf superstars Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, and Patrick Reed are facing a harsh reality as their lucrative contracts with the Saudi-backed league approach expiration — and renewal is far from guaranteed.
The first wave of multimillion-dollar deals that drew several of golf’s biggest names away from the PGA Tour in 2022 is coming to an end. Players such as Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Koepka signed contracts reportedly worth over $100 million. But with those initial agreements expiring soon, LIV Golf is signaling a shift — and the era of massive signing bonuses may be over.
While DeChambeau is expected to secure a fresh deal thanks to his prominence as one of LIV’s main faces, others may not be as fortunate. Many stars have struggled for form and may not see the same nine-figure offers this time around, leaving them in limbo and potentially without a clear path to major championships.
In an effort to remain competitive and retain world ranking relevance, 31 LIV players recently entered the Hong Kong Open, as LIV events still do not award Official World Golf Ranking points. The need to qualify for majors through alternative routes has become increasingly urgent, especially as progress toward a potential merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour has slowed.
Johnson, captain of the 4Aces GC, has experienced both triumph and decline since joining LIV. He claimed the inaugural individual title and led his team to the championship in 2022, but recent performances have been lackluster. The two-time major winner missed the cut at the Masters, PGA Championship, and U.S. Open in 2025, managing only a tied-23rd finish at The Open Championship. His contract reportedly expires at the end of this season.
Reed, Johnson’s teammate on the 4Aces, joined LIV mid-2022 and has one individual victory — LIV Golf Dallas 2025— along with seven team titles. His form in majors has been mixed; a close third-place finish at the Masters was overshadowed by missed cuts in the PGA and Open Championships.
As for Koepka, the five-time major champion and Smash GC captain, his future remains one of the most talked-about topics in golf. Despite becoming the first LIV player to win a major with his 2023 PGA Championship triumph, he has struggled since, missing three of four major cuts in 2025. Reports have linked him with a potential return to the PGA Tour in search of renewed competitiveness.
Earlier this year, former Masters champion Fred Couples claimed Koepka was eyeing a PGA comeback — an assertion the American neither confirmed nor denied.
“Everybody seems to have their own opinion, and no one asks me,” Koepka said in March. “I’ve got a contract obligation out here to fulfill, and then we’ll see what happens.”
As LIV Golf scales back its extravagant spending and the future of its stars hangs in the balance, players like Koepka, Johnson, and Reed could soon find themselves at a crossroads — forced to choose between uncertain loyalty and a return to familiar fairways.
Leave a Reply