LIV Golf may not have put forth an amazing product, but it certainly tried to land amazing players.
The golden goose, as it were, would have been Tiger Woods, who had the most dominant prime in golf history before injuries and trouble off the links hindered his career. The superstar would have immediately lent credibility to LIV, which made a concerted push for many of the best golfers in the world.
Woods, however, decried LIV at every turn, reaffirming his commitment to the PGA Tour. In a stunning development, June 6 saw LIV and the PGA Tour merge, thus rendering Woods' principles moot -- he now falls under the PGA Tour-LIV Golf umbrella with everyone else.
Here's a look at how much Woods was offered, along with his relationship to LIV Golf.
MORE: U.S. Open winners by player: Who has won the most U.S. Open titles
Tiger Woods LIV Golf contract offer
There has been some back-and-forth around how much LIV Golf offered Woods to join the breakaway league.
According to the CEO of LIV Golf while it operated, Greg Norman --whose future with the league is now unclear -- Woods was offered around $700 million to $800 million. Norman also mentioned the offer predated him joining LIV.
“They’d originally approached Tiger before I became CEO,” Norman told Tucker Carlson, per GOLF.com. “So yes, the number is somewhere in that neighborhood.”
Majad Al Sorour, the CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation, later clarified the number, saying it wasn't out-and-out money and it wasn't the near-billion dollars Norman was saying.
“It’s not straight-out money. I never offered him that money, not even close to that,” Sorour said, per GOLF.com.
Norman later reversed course and matched his story up with Sorour's.
“That’s how it is,” Norman said. “It’s not the cash value. We never offered that cash value to Tiger Woods. That’s the reality of it.”
These words are, of course, being chosen carefully. Woods may not have made that money in cash up front, but reports indicate he would have made an estimable amount of money off sponsorships and league equity.
MORE: Jay Monahan botches defense of PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger
Tiger Woods net worth
Whatever the reality is, Woods' LIV Golf "losses" (you technically can't lose what you didn't have), while significant, aren't going to bankrupt him.
According the the lifestyle site "AugustMan," Woods is worth a reported $1.1 billion, putting him on a short list of billionaire athletes.
Between golf, endorsements, and appearances, Woods has had one of the most lucrative careers of any athlete in any sport.
What has Tiger Woods said about LIV Golf?
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf couldn't coexist as separate entities, and the PGA Tour's top player in Woods being incredibly outspoken against LIV is part of the reason why.
"The best place to play is the PGA Tour," Woods said in 2022, per Golf Digest. "That’s where all the top players do play. And we all as players want to compete against one another and beat each other’s brains in. That’s the fun part about it. We just need to do that collectively together more often. How we do that is the challenge of it all.”
In February, Woods also mentioned tensions between players in the two leagues.
"I don't know because I haven't been around them," he said, per The Florida Times-Union. "Some of the players out here have. For instance, Rory's in Dubai with some of those players. I don't know, I don't know what that reaction's going to be. I know that some of our friendships have certainly taken a different path, but we'll see when all that transpires. That is still a couple months away."
Woods and Rory McIlroy, whom he mentioned in that quote, have been some of the most outspoken players in favor of the PGA Tour.
MORE: Rory McIlroy's LIV Golf comments: A timeline of quotes
Would Woods' answer to the offer -- whatever it came out to -- been different if he'd known Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour would reverse course so quickly? Woods will likely never address it himself, so it's impossible to know.
However, amidst all of this is one certainty: Woods turned down a lot of money to stay with the PGA Tour. Nevertheless, his bank account will be fine.
