Sports Lawyer Jodi Balsam had just walked Trey Wingo through how LIV Golf’s creditors might get paid. Then Wingo asked what happens if LIV 2.0 never gets off the ground. The former NFL lawyer answered without hedging.
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“There’s no money there, right? So it reported assets in its bankruptcy filing of a hundred to $500 million against $500 to a billion dollars in liability. Right? Do the math. LIV owes more than it has. $495 million of that debt is owed back to the Saudi Public Investment Fund,” she said.
LIV filed for Chapter 11 in New Jersey on September 8, after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund ended its equity funding of a league it had backed with about $5 billion. The petition lists more than 1,000 creditors. Balsam, a Brooklyn Law School professor who also teaches at NYU, was once the NFL’s counsel for operations and litigation.
BC Partners Credit is the firm behind LIV 2.0, and Balsam questioned what it gets out of the deal. She noted it “only had to put down $4 million upfront. That’s their only sunk cost at this point.” That $4 million is an initial loan to cover costs during the case. The $300 million is a cumulative target, not cash LIV already holds.
“the single most valuable asset in the bankruptcy estate is tax losses,” Balsam’s answer noted.
Court filings show about $3 billion in U.S. net operating losses and $2 billion in U.K. losses. The Financial Times reported that PIF worried those losses were BC’s main motive. BC Credit head Ted Goldthorpe acknowledged them but said “that’s not the driving force behind the investment.”
Bloomberg Law notes Chapter 11 rules can shield tax attributes when certain creditors take at least half the business. Still, Balsam stressed that nothing is final.
“The entire deal has to be confirmed by the bankruptcy court,” he said.
Judge Michael Kaplan approved the restructuring support agreement on October 14, but he said that approval does not necessarily mean a plan gets confirmed. Players would own 52.5 percent of LIV 2.0, BC and other investors 45 percent, and management 2.5 percent. The $300 million is split between a $127.5 million term loan, $147.5 million of senior preferred, and $25 million of convertible preferred. BC also decides how many players count as enough, and it can waive the October 25 commitment deadline.
Wingo asked what vendors should realistically expect. Four vendors had already sued over unpaid bills before LIV filed. Fresh Tape Media wants about $1.23 million for the league’s 2026 preseason event, and Fantasy Interactive is chasing nearly $993,000 for app and website work. Front Office Sports found individual contractors owed anywhere from several thousand dollars to nearly $100,000.
“There’s going to have to be some satisfaction paid to those creditors,” Balsam said.
The scale complicates that. LIV’s 30 largest creditors alone are owed more than $64 million, and it entered bankruptcy with $15 million in cash. Court filings also show $15.6 million in retention payments to seven executives, including $6.4 million to CEO Scott O’Neil.
“It won’t be full value, but it’ll be more than in a liquidation,” Balsam further noted.
That is why she says creditors should root for the league to emerge. LIV’s petition indicates funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors. PIF’s $49.6 million bankruptcy loan helps fund the case, but Front Office Sports notes it still won’t cover everyone.
“LIV owes more than it has,” Balsam said, and then pointed to $495 million of that debt owed to PIF. The filing says at least that much in principal was outstanding when LIV filed. PIF is LIV’s only pre-petition secured lender and would see its debt and equity cancelled for releases, subject to an independent committee’s investigation.
LIV’s attorney told the court the league should know by month’s end whether it moves ahead or shuts down. The next hearing is November 5. Players still must commit, and the DP World Tour’s rule against 2027 members playing LIV 2.0 is another hurdle LIV has challenged in court. For vendors, the best shot at getting paid runs through a plan the court confirms.