Rahm Calls LIV Golf 2.0 Terms 'Unacceptable,' Seeks Exit Deal

Jon Rahm will not play in the restructured LIV Golf 2.0 league, his lawyer told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey on Wednesday, after the two-time major champion independently reviewed the new terms and found them "unacceptable," according to the New York Post, citing Front Office Sports.

For golf fans trying to follow a fast-moving bankruptcy case, here is what the court filing means and what happens next.

What did Rahm's lawyer tell the court?

John Beck of Dentons U.S., LLP, representing Rahm, told the bankruptcy judge that his client reviewed the LIV Golf 2.0 proposal on his own and rejected it. Beck did not spell out which specific terms Rahm objected to, the Post reported.

Beck said Rahm and LIV Golf are now in "advanced discussions" over a consensual separation agreement, meaning both sides are trying to negotiate an exit rather than fight it out in court. Beck told the judge he hopes to have that deal finished on or before Oct. 15.

If no deal gets done by then, Beck said Rahm will formally object to LIV's motion to reject his contract. That objection would be argued at the next hearing, set for Nov. 5.

"If the parties, for whatever reason, are unable to reach a consensual separation agreement, Mr. Rahm intends to press his objection to the rejection motion, which we have shared already in draft form with debtors counsel, and we will be back before your honor on November 5th to address the scope and applicable provisions of any order seeking to reject Mr. Rahm's contract," Beck told the court, according to the Post.

Why is there a LIV Golf 2.0 in the first place?

LIV Golf's funding from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund ended when the 2026 season wrapped up, the Post reported. LIV 2.0 is the league's proposed, scaled-back replacement. League organizers are now trying to line up new investors for a 10-event schedule in 2027 that would use smaller purses than the original PIF-backed version, according to the Post.

That funding gap is also why the league is in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to begin with — the case is sorting out which player contracts the restructured league can keep and which ones it wants to walk away from.

How much money is on the line for Rahm?

Rahm, 31, signed a multi-year LIV contract ahead of the 2024 season. He is reportedly still owed more than $300 million on that deal, the Post reported. That figure is central to why both sides have an incentive to settle: LIV would rather negotiate an exit number than litigate a $300 million-plus claim in bankruptcy court, and Rahm's side gets certainty instead of waiting on a restructured league's ability to pay.

What happens to the case between now and November?

Here is the sequence laid out in court, based on the Post's reporting:

• Oct. 7 — Rahm's lawyer tells the bankruptcy judge in New Jersey that Rahm rejects LIV 2.0's terms and that settlement talks are underway.
• On or before Oct. 15 — Target date Beck gave the court for finishing a consensual separation agreement.
• Nov. 5 — Next scheduled hearing, where the judge will either review a finalized settlement or hear Rahm's objection to LIV's motion to reject his contract.

If the Oct. 15 target slips but a deal still gets done before Nov. 5, that hearing would likely function as a check-in on the settlement's terms rather than a contested fight.

Can Rahm still play elsewhere?

Yes, with conditions. Rahm is eligible to return to the DP World Tour in Europe once he pays fines and agrees to play in at least five events, the Post reported.

His path back to the PGA Tour is less clear. He passed on the tour's Returning Members Program — the same route Brooks Koepka used to get back in — and that program is now closed, according to the Post. That leaves Rahm without the easiest re-entry option to U.S. tour golf, even as his LIV chapter appears to be ending.

For now, the practical result is this: Rahm is out of LIV Golf 2.0 regardless of how the bankruptcy case resolves. What remains undecided is how much money he collects on the way out, and whether that gets settled by mutual agreement or decided by a judge on Nov. 5.