Dustin Johnson’s new LIV Golf contract, huge rankings drop and why it all makes sense

The American former world No.1 has the perfect profile for the Saudi-backed breakaway league which has not agreed a deal with the PGA Tour

14:26, 28 Oct 2025Updated 14:26, 28 Oct 2025

Dustin Johnson – with his wife Paulina Gretzky – was the highest ranked player to join LIV Golf in 2022(Image: Jonathan Ferrey/LIV Golf, via Getty Images)

Former world No.1 Dustin Johnson was the highest ranked and best player to join LIV Golf before the first event in June 2022. And with his model wife Paulina Gretzky and his laid back style, Dustin Johnson personified the new style of golf promoted by the Saudi-owned breakaway league.

Now with merger talks between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour at a stalemate, the double Major champion is reportedly among the early players to agree to a second contract for the fifth season starting in February.

Johnson, now 41, was offered a four-year deal worth $125m to lure him away from the PGA Tour – more than his then career earnings of $74m. After losses of over $1bn and a new determination to break even, the new contracts will not be in the same stratosphere.

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But like in 2022, Johnson’s re-signing will be followed by more names for the business still backed by Newcastle chairman and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

“Multiple sources confirm that Dustin Johnson has signed a new contract with LIV Golf,” the golf site Flushing It posted on X. “The details of the deal are unknown at this stage, but the 2022 Individual Championship winner was in New York recently to meet with officials and will be returning as captain of 4 Aces GC in 2026.

“There’s been lots of speculation about star names leaving the league, but we understand that most players up for renewal this year have already agreed terms and will be teeing it up next season, with all players not released or relegated also expected to do so.”

Dustin Johnson won at the Saudi International after defecting to LIV Golf(Image: Getty Images)Dustin Johnson walks with his wife, Paulina Gretzky, during The Masters Par Three contest(Image: Andrew Redington, Getty Images)

Johnson was still ranked world No.13 when he teed up at The Centurion in June 2022 and won the first LIV Golf individual standings. His 4Aces GC also won the team event in both 2022 and 2023. Jon Rahm, who signed in December 2023, has taken over as the leading LIV player while the American missed the cut in three Majors this season and is now down to world No.595.

US sportswriter Rick Reilly once wrote that Johnson is “so dense, light bends round him”. He is never going to win a Nobel Prize but the Columbia-born star remains popular with his fellow pros and fans – and has embodied the party attitude of LIV Golf.

He invited spectators to come and sample the atmosphere and claimed: “The fans who come all seem to like it and have a good time, and the more the merrier.”

The limited LIV schedule has also suited Johnson and re-signing makes sense for both sides. Most team captains accepted shares in their teams when joining LIV and will want to protect their investments. LIV Golf has also become a band of brothers with a two-way loyalty.

LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau would be welcomed back to the PGA Tour

Securing fellow Major champions Brooks Koepka, who has one more year left on his deal, and Ryder Cup star Bryson DeChambeau offer bigger challenges. DeChambeau, along with Rahm, are the two stars who have been missed most by the PGA Tour while LIV has continued to lose money.

Accounts filed at UK Companies House this month showed LIV Golf losses rose to $461.8m in 2024 from $395mn in 2023 and $243m in the 18 months to the end of 2022. These figures do not include losses in the USA. The value of LIV Golf – $5bn or $500m – is a major stumbling block in negotiations. PIF runs the Saudi wealth fund worth close to $1trillion.

New chief executive Scot O’Neil – who has replaced Greg Norman – has claimed LIV Golf has generated “half a billion” dollars in sponsorship revenue over the last 10 months with a media rights deal with US broadcaster Fox Sports and HSBC becoming the first title sponsor in Hong Kong in March.

Six players have been relegated from LIV Golf after the 2025 season – Henrik Stenson, Andy Ogletree, Mito Pereira, Yubin Jang, Frederik Kjettrup and Anthony Kim. The profile and prices of their replacements will show the current par for the breakaway league.