While the golfers who joined LIV Golf appear to be making a lot more money from the Saudi-backed venture, it appears that they’re making less money from their long-time sponsors.
Bryson DeChambeau is the latest LIV Golf player to lose a sponsorship as he and golf ball manufacturer Bridgestone have “agreed to end their sponsorship relationship,” per ESPN. The decision also has to do with the fact that Bridgestone has an ongoing relationship with the PGA Tour, which is now rivals with LIV.
“The PGA Tour is an extremely important part of professional golf, and Bridgestone has a sports marketing relationship with this highly visible series of tournaments,” A company statement said. “In considering that Bryson DeChambeau will no longer be participating in these events, Bridgestone and Bryson have agreed to end their brand ambassador partnership.”
This is actually the second sponsor to cut ties with DeChambeau since he made the move to LIV Golf. Rocket Mortgage rescinded its agreement with the former PGA golfer as well.
Bryson may not be too bothered. He recently told the “Country Club Adjacent” podcast that he had signed a 4-and-a-half-year contract with LIV Golf and implied that he was making more than $125 million over the deal.
“I’m not going to say the details; I mean, for what’s reported, it’s somewhat close,” DeChambeau said on the podcast. “It’s a 4-and-a-half-year deal, I can definitely tell you that, and a lot of it was upfront, which is great.”
[ESPN]
