When CEO Scott O’Neil revealed plans to seek $250 million in investment after PIF announced it would discontinue pouring money into LIV Golf, there was a lot of uncertainty. However, one thing was clear: if the league does continue, it will play a much smaller schedule with reduced purses. Today, O’Neil announced that LIV had reached an agreement with an unnamed lead investor, which had signed a term sheet and been approved by LIV’s board of directors. But this does not necessarily secure LIV Golf’s future. Golf analyst Brendan Porath believes that the league could lose some of its most popular names.

“But I’m curious about what it is that’s going forward. I have a couple, like seems like they probably won’t retain all their talent. Some of their big guns may leave. What is the value of having an equity in this state in this league?” Porath said in a Fried Egg Golf and The Shotgun Start podcast.

Speaking ahead of LIV Golf New York, the CEO said that the league could exist not only in 2027 but also in 2028 and beyond. While the players may lose on reduced purses, the league is compensating for that by offering them equity and returning “some” of NIL rights, where they could play in other leagues they are eligible to play in.

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However, the question is whether those other leagues, especially the PGA Tour, want LIV golfers to play their events. As for equity, the valuation of the league does not look that great at the moment. It has made losses ever since its inception, which hints that it may not be a viable product. All in all, Brendan Porath does not believe that these offers are lucrative enough to hold the big names.

Two-time LIV Golf winner this year, Lucas Herbert, said Tuesday that his management team has been talking with PGA Tour officials, as shared by AP News.

“If LIV were to go away and you’ve got nowhere to play, I think ultimately you need somewhere to play as a professional golfer. So we’re just doing due diligence,” Herbert said.

Moreover, many reports say that over a dozen golfers have connected with the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour for a path back. If these reports are true, then LIV Golf will face another challenge of recruiting more star power, and this time, without the millions of dollars it had until last year.

But amid all this, Brendan Porath believes that there’s one silver lining. He feels that Bryson DeChambeau still looks committed to all this.

“I think a plausible implication from all this, which is important to LIV, is that Bryson [DeChambeau] seems committed to some version of whatever is going, seems I should say, and plausible want to hedge there,” he added.

He even hinted that Bryson DeChambeau might somehow be tied into this. O’Neil said the investor cares about golf and appreciates what LIV has done to pull in a younger crowd. He also said the investor is drawn to the league’s global reach and how it’s helping grow the game across continents. Porath said the two-time major champion talks about that a lot too. But he doesn’t see guys like Jon Rahm or Tyrrell Hatton nearly as involved in any of it.