LIV Golf paid CEO O'Neil $6.3M retention bonus months before bankruptcy filing
Court records show LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil received a $6.375 million retention payment less than three months before the tour filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, ESPN reports.
LIV Golf chief executive Scott O'Neil received a retention payment of close to $6.4 million less than three months before the embattled tour filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to new court records, ESPN reports.
The league's statement of financial affairs, filed Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey, shows O'Neil was paid a retention bonus of $6.375 million on June 24 — after receiving a bonus of about $2.7 million in February, ESPN reports.
From September 2025 through August 2026, O'Neil collected more than $13.6 million in total from the tour, including payroll, bonuses, benefits, retention payments and expense reimbursements, according to the court records.
He is not the only LIV executive to depart with a large payout. O'Neil's predecessor, former LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman, was paid more than $9.4 million when he left the breakaway circuit in September 2025, including a settlement of about $5.8 million and a $3.6 million bonus, ESPN reports. Overall, the latest filings show LIV Golf paid roughly $15.6 million in retention payments to top executives.
LIV Golf and its related entities voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 protection on September 8, 2026. A U.S. bankruptcy judge has permitted the league to pursue a restructuring plan, and a tour attorney told the court last week that LIV should learn by the end of this month whether it has a future.
Source: ESPN — Top Headlines — TrendWire reports stories in its own words; facts should be confirmed against the original source.