CEO O'Neil given $6.3M before LIV bankruptcy protection filing

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  Mark SchlabachOct 23, 2026, 06:50 PM ET

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  • Senior college football writer
  • Author of seven books on college football
  • Graduate of the University of Georgia

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil was given 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.

LIV Golf's statement of financial affairs, which was filed Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey, showed O'Neil received a retention bonus of $6.375 million on June 24 after getting a bonus of about $2.7 million on Feb. 13.

From Sept. 12, 2025 to Aug. 28, 2026, O'Neill received more than $13.6 million in payroll, bonuses, benefits, retention payments and expense reimbursements, per the court records.

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. The records showed Norman received a settlement of about $5.8 million and a $3.6 million bonus.

The latest court records show LIV Golf paid out about $15.6 million to top executives in retention payments. Chief financial officer David Phillips was paid more than $3.3 million, while chief legal officer John Ruzich received about $2.6 million.

LIV Golf and its related entities voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 protection on Sept. 8. The league indicated it had between $100 million and $500 million in assets and $500 million to $1 billion in liabilities.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Michael B. Kaplan permitted the league to enter into a restructuring plan with BC Partners, which could provide as much as $300 million in financing for LIV Golf 2.0, including an initial loan of $4 million to help keep operations going during the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.

A LIV Golf attorney told Kaplan last week that the league should know by the end of the month if it will go forward with LIV 2.0 or wind down its operations.