Jon Rahm Becomes Second Highest Earner in Sport

It is not just the world of golf that has been turned on its head by the amount of money being thrown around by LIV. The latest Forbes list highlighting the world’s highest-earning sports stars reveals the impact the Saudis have had on global sport.

Top of the list is footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite rapidly approaching his 40th birthday, the Portuguese star is still coining in the cash as he closes out his playing career in Saudi Arabia. Forbes estimates that from May 1, 2023 to May 1, 2024, Ronaldo earned a staggering $260m.

Can you guess who is second on the list?

Of course you can. It is Spanish golfer Jon Rahm, who is estimated to have collected $218m in the past 12 months. According to Forbes, $198 million of that came from his on-course earnings/contracts, while $20 million came off the course through things such as endorsements.

For LIV players who received guaranteed contracts, Forbes calculated those sums via conversations with industry sources and estimated that top LIV players received half of their guarantees upfront, with remaining signing bonus money to be paid through the course of the contracts. Rahm signed a contract thought to be worth somewhere in the region of $450m but he would not have received the entire sum in one lump payment.

Rahm, who did not feature in last year’s list, shocked the golf world when he signed with LIV Golf in December. Rahm won four times on the PGA Tour from January 2023 to April 2023, which included The Masters for his second major title. He officially earned $16.5 million in prize money on the PGA Tour last season. Forbes list his sponsors for that time period as Callaway, Mercedes-Benz, Rolex and Santander Group.

Rahm has yet to win since he’s moved to LIV Golf, but he hasn’t finished worse than 10th in his seven starts. He’s finished third twice. In his two major appearances since joining LIV, Rahm tied for 45th at the Masters and missed the cut at the PGA Championship.

Rahm was one of five golfers on the Forbes’ top-50 list, which included Rory McIlroy (19th, $80.1 million total), Tiger Woods (23rd, $67.2 million), Scottie Scheffler (29th, $59.2 million) and Cameron Smith (43rd, $48 million). Smith, like Rahm, left the PGA Tour for LIV. Smith won the 2022 Open Championship at St Andrews, then signed with LIV at the end of the PGA Tour season. Smith’s signing bonus has been rumored to be nine figures.

In its 2023 list, Dustin Johnson (6th, $107 million) and Phil Mickelson (7th, $106 million) - fresh off their deals with LIV - were the only golfers ranked in the top 10. Last year was also the first time in six years Woods was not ranked as the world’s highest-paid golfer.

Rahm attracted a great deal of criticism during the PGA Championship when he said that he still considers himself to be a member of the PGA Tour. He said: "I’m still a PGA Tour member, whether suspended or not. I still want to support the PGA Tour and I think that’s an important distinction to make. I don’t feel like I’m on the other side. I’m just not playing there."