The Sportico 2025 list confirms what guaranteed money skeptics didn’t want to hear: Jon Rahm‘s LIV loyalty made him golf’s richest player for the second consecutive year.

Rahm earned $100.7 million in 2025, placing him 10th globally among all athletes. The breakdown tells the story: $84.7 million came from LIV salary and bonuses, with $16 million in endorsements. For context, Rahm’s single-season haul exceeds his entire PGA TOUR career earnings of approximately $52.8 million.

He finished just behind Kevin Durant ($100.8 million) and narrowly ahead of Lewis Hamilton ($100 million), putting him in rare air for any golfer.

Rahm’s reported LIV deal, valued between $550 and $600 million according to a previous report, transformed his earnings trajectory overnight. The Spaniard didn’t win an individual tournament in 2025—yet he still outearned every golfer on the planet. His season-long consistency delivered 13 consecutive top-11 finishes and a second LIV Golf individual championship, banking him the $18 million bonus that comes with it.

Rory McIlroy claimed the 14th spot with $91.2 million, nearly $51 million of it flowing from endorsements and business ventures. After ranking 17th in 2024 at $79.8 million, McIlroy leapfrogged several peers on the strength of one defining moment: his Career Grand Slam completion at the 2025 Masters. The sudden-death playoff victory over Justin Rose ended an 11-year major drought and etched his name alongside Nicklaus, Woods, Player, Hogan, and Sarazen.

McIlroy remains one of only two golfers to surpass $100 million in PGA TOUR career earnings, joining Tiger Woods. Longevity, brand equity, and elite play—the Northern Irishman checks every box.

Tiger Woods landed at 41st with $55 million—despite making only two competitive starts. His $54 million in off-course income tells a different story: TGL, the tech-infused league he co-founded with McIlroy, launched in 2025. Sun Day Red, his apparel venture with TaylorMade following his Nike departure in January 2024, continues to generate revenue. Woods still sits atop the PGA TOUR’s all-time career earnings list at roughly $121 million. The man built a billion-dollar empire on 82 wins; now he prints money simply by existing.

Bryson DeChambeau rocketed from 97th in 2024 to 23rd this year, banking $62.7 million. LIV checks account for the bulk, but roughly $20 million came from endorsements—fueled largely by his YouTube empire. The two-time U.S. Open champion has transformed a polarizing personality into profitable content. However you feel about his path, the financial results are undeniable.

But the most revealing story on the Sportico list isn’t at the top—it’s in the gap between guaranteed wealth and earned success.

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The Scheffler Paradox: Six Wins, $17.8 Million Less Than Jon Rahm

Scottie Scheffler slipped from 11th to 16th on the global list despite an $82.9 million season. Six victories. A fourth consecutive Player of the Year trophy. Thirty-two million dollars in endorsement income. The world’s best golfer by nearly every metric—yet he earned $17.8 million less than Rahm.

The gap exposes modern golf’s financial architecture. Scheffler’s model relies on performance: win tournaments, collect checks, attract sponsors. Rahm’s model guarantees security regardless of Sunday outcomes. Both paths produce staggering wealth, but the difference is volatility.

Scheffler already ranks third all-time on the PGA TOUR’s career money list at $99.5 million—his 2025 total edges out Patrick Mahomes’ $80.3 million, for perspective. But guaranteed LIV contracts have rewritten the ceiling. Performance alone no longer guarantees the top spot.

Six golfers made Sportico’s top 100, split evenly between LIV and the PGA TOUR. The division speaks for itself: Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Joaquin Niemann represent LIV; McIlroy, Scheffler, and Woods represent the traditional circuit.

The top 100 athletes earned a combined $6.05 billion in 2025. Golfers aren’t anomalies on that list anymore—they’re fixtures. Legacy sponsorships combined with on-course paydays have thrust professional golf into the global money conversation and it’s not leaving anytime soon.