Bryson DeChambeau is reportedly asking for US$500 million to re-sign with LIV Golf, a figure so large it has senior LIV officials privately conceding that the era of nine-figure guaranteed contracts is over.
According to reporting by The Athletic's Brody Miller, the two-time US Open champion spent Masters week meeting with industry stakeholders to explore his options ahead of a contract that expires at the end of this year. The $500 million asking price is nearly impossible for the league to meet in its current state, with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) reported to be pulling its funding at the end of the 2026 season after an estimated $5 billion to $8 billion in losses since 2021.
The 32-year-old has also, according to the report, floated a very modern alternative: play only the four major championships and run a full-time YouTube career.
"DeChambeau has even used his YouTube success as a leverage play with all potential suitors, indicating he's open to only filming content and playing the four major championships," Miller wrote.
**'Optimism within LIV'**
"There's optimism within LIV that he's not going anywhere," Miller reported, "while also a clear concession that they cannot ever go back to the world of contracts worth hundreds of millions in guaranteed dollars."
LIV Golf chief executive Scott O'Neil has publicly said DeChambeau is an even bigger believer in the league's global product than he is. Those claims are being tested by the events of the last fortnight.
**A tumultuous Masters and Mexico City**
DeChambeau missed the cut at Augusta after a triple bogey at the final hole of his second round, then withdrew from LIV Mexico City with one round to play, citing wrist discomfort. The wrist absence came hours after he was filmed criticising the playing surface at Club de Golf Chapultepec.
"You got destroyed grass... oh this is rough," he said on a video captured by spectators. "Guys this is what we're playing on apparently!"
That outburst landed in the middle of the week in which LIV's uncertain funding future became the league's biggest story. O'Neil's accidentally candid admission, in an interview with LIV's TNT broadcast partners, that the league was only "funded through the season" was quickly scrubbed from social media.
DeChambeau was also reportedly involved in a tense exchange with Jon Rahm on the practice green before the first round - a conversation that left around a dozen of their LIV colleagues distracted and forced officials to scramble players into golf carts to make the shotgun start on time.
**PGA Tour door opened, and shut**
Earlier this year, the PGA Tour opened a narrow window for DeChambeau, Rahm and Cameron Smith to return under the same reinstatement terms that Brooks Koepka used. That three-week window passed without action from any of the three. At season-launching media events for LIV, DeChambeau appeared visibly frustrated when the topic was raised.
Brian Rolapp, the PGA Tour CEO, has since told ESPN the tour is "thinking about a clear path back for LIV players" but also insisted the tour would respect existing contracts.
"We know those guys are under contract and we'll respect that," Rolapp said.
**What DeChambeau is worth**
The asking price reflects the commercial reality that DeChambeau is, by a distance, LIV's most marketable individual. He is the league's biggest YouTube draw, the most prolific autograph-signer on property, and - Mexico City's brush-past-children scene aside - has typically spent up to an hour with fans after rounds. His two US Open titles and his regular Masters contention have kept him in the majors conversation in a way few LIV names have managed.
Provided his wrist holds up, DeChambeau will return for LIV Virginia next month, a tune-up for the PGA Championship. In the background, however, the financial bargaining will continue. On current evidence, the rejected figures will be very large - and the settled number, when it finally arrives, will be a long way south of half a billion dollars.