Months After Accepting $125M LIV Golf Offer, Dustin Johnson Pays a Huge Price for Leaving the PGA Tour

Published 02/22/2023, 2:03 AM EST

Dustin Johnson has a career spanning over a decade and a half. He has firmly established himself as one of the best golfers of his generation. Moreover, Johnson won numerous accolades, including multiple major championships, and has held the coveted position of the world’s number-one-ranked golfer.

And through it all, he has been supported by multiple sponsors. The Royal Bank of Canada parted ways with the golfer when he defected to LIV Golf, accepting the $125 million offer. Moreover, now Dustin’s long-time partner has decided to move on as well, which is termed a mutual agreement.

Dustin Johnson breaks up a longtime partnership

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Adidas Golf president, Jeff Lienhart, in a statement to ESPN announced that the company will no longer sponsor the 38-year-old. Moreover, he also said, this move was mutually decided. Johnson has been promoting the brand for over 15 years, which is the same period he established himself among the legends of golf with his performance.

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Adding to that, Adidas has also decided not to renew its deal with Sergio Garcia. The 2017 Masters Champion is the second big name at LIV Golf, to lose Adidas as a sponsor. Also, sources close to Dustin have revealed the reason behind this move. The former PGA Tour player wants to establish the brand and franchise value of their own team, the 4Aces, which wouldn’t be possible with Adidas.

Furthermore, this is a significant part of the LIV Golf League’s sponsorship model, which involves selling logo space on shirts. Moreover, Dustin needs a clean break from Adidas to establish his team’s brand identity and is grateful to the company for letting him out of the deal.

Although this has been termed as an amicable separation, golf fans have some serious doubts about it. They feel that the German brand dropped the former no.1 because he is not as visible since leaving the PGA Tour. Furthermore, it also speculated that the deal ended because brands don’t want to be associated with LIV Golf.

Ppl are pointing that it’s due to them joining LIV.
Maybe it’s because LIV isn’t generating enough eyes to warrant paying DJ and others millions of dollars. #golf @NoLayingUp https://t.co/aoxJT2hSyS
— Matt Brooks (@MattyB_206) February 21, 2023

Pretty good signal that manufacturers/apparel companies are ditching LIV. Same with Cobra & Bryson. One of Norman's big pitches to players was apparently this franchising thing, and that seems completely dead at the moment.
— Chuck Daddy (@Avoid_TheClap) February 21, 2023

No eyeballs and doesn't move product. Not surprising.
— Charlie B. (@20over10) February 21, 2023

It was only a matter of time. Very very little exposure for these companies due to them not playing much. As the contracts end their relationships will also. Most won't have contracts renewed. The young guns on the PGA Tour are about to bank. They will pick up these sponsors👏👏
— steve jusino (@SJ_Bowling300) February 21, 2023

Not playing since last fall, being on the CW with about a third of your season taped delayed, and needing to wear uniforms without your input seems like a waste of time and money for any clothing company to sponsor.
— Patrick (@panderson1988) February 21, 2023

They aren’t playing events where they are promoting the gear. They have team uniforms. It is the same for club manufacturers. They have a set # of appearances they need to make to promote their gear, they aren’t meeting that.
— Johnny GB (@JohnnyGB412) February 21, 2023

I would assume these companies do these sponsorship deals to be on TV, if DJ isn't playing much and the ratings are bad they will move to somebody else to get more visibility. It's the right business move.
— JoeMarino (@marinjos) February 21, 2023

Adidas is probably grateful that DJ wanted out of his contract. I can’t imagine they were too happy with him stepping away from the limelight of professional golf by leaving the PGA Tour for LIV.
— PattyD_Oil (@bigweeels) February 21, 2023

I highly doubt they “mutually” parted ways. More like he went to liv he’s no longer on tv or winning anything relevant so it’s not worth it for us to pay him money anymore to wear our clothes.
— Bill Elliott (@BADBILLY429) February 21, 2023

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They want people to see their product being used. No one sees a liv event. So why pay for zero eyeballs?
— MattRog221 (@MRog221) February 21, 2023

However, Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted said that the emergence of the breakaway faction is just the evolution of the sport. Moreover, he said that the company focuses more on partnering with the best player rather than the league they will be playing at.

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Watch this story: ‘Don’t Think Tiger Can Do Much’: Greg Norman Laid Bare Facts About Tiger Woods Before His Much Awaited Return in 2009

Do you think this might be bad news for LIV Golf? Drop your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Written by:

Edited by:

Varunkumaar Chelladurai

Months After Accepting $125M LIV Golf Offer, Dustin Johnson Pays a Huge Price for Leaving the PGA Tour

Dustin Johnson breaks up a longtime partnership

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