Bubba Watson on LIV Golf contracts: "They're not just throwing money randomly"
Bubba Watson has explained the formula the PIF of Saudi Arabia use to calculate the contracts of prospective LIV Golf League players.
Bubba Watson has shone a light on how LIV Golf's financiers arrive at some of the astronomical fees golfers receive for joining the rival league.
Since LIV Golf launched in June 2022, much has been said about how much money golfers have been pocketing up front.
Phil Mickelson all but confirmed his LIV deal was worth $200m when he returned from his mini golf exile.
And Brooks Koepka was the latest to confirm his contract was worth north of $100m.
Elsewhere, it has been suggested Cameron Smith's fee was $150m, Bryson DeChambeau's $120m and Dustin Johnson $140m.
A host of former European Ryder Cup stars are believed to have pocketed between $50-100m for their respective deals.
Jon Rahm's LIV deal has reportedly trumped all of the above as the Spaniard is believed to have agreed a $600m contract.
It is not known how much two-time Masters champion Watson pocketed after he resigned from the PGA Tour and bolted to LIV.
Previous reports suggested the figure was in the region of $50m.
The 45-year-old opened up on the subject in a recent appearance on the Fore Play podcast.
"They're not just throwing out money randomly," he said. "There is actually a formula of why so-and-so gets this.
"There is actually a formula. These are smart businessmen. This fund [PIF] has made it because they're smart at what they do.
"They own almost a piece of every company that's ever been built in the United States, right?
"They have a formula of how they invest their money. It's not just some made-up number, it's an actual real number for a reason."
Watson continued: "They might have added on five per cent, they might have added on two per cent - depending on who you are.
"They might have added 0.5 per cent for me. There's a formula out there that we have behind the scenes, it's not like, 'Here's a cheque.'
"It's a real number for a reason. There are some guys on the Tour that just came up with random numbers, and the League is just like, 'Who are you?'
"I would never call those people out, but there are some random numbers and you're just like: 'You haven't even made that much in your career!'
"Like, hold on a second, I know a sponsor isn't sponsoring you for that much."
The PIF is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest in the world, with estimated assets of $776bn.
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