Golf and football would get on well these last few years as both have been subject to significant investment from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The LIV Golf League was introduced in 2022, luring some of the game’s biggest names with seven, eight and nine-figure sign-up fees. They began with Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Louis Oosthuizen and in two years, the breakaway league has since recruited Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Jon Rahm.
Stalwarts of the European scene such as Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia also took the plunge with the start-up league after enjoying illustrious careers on both sides of the pond and in the Ryder Cup.
At the root of LIV Golf’s creation is the desire of Saudi Arabia, specifically the sovereign’s Public Investment Fund, to invest in golf and reach its top table. This is not too dissimilar to the developments in men’s football of recent years.
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The Saudi Pro League has attracted some of the world’s most popular, successful and recognisable footballers, both at the peak of their powers and approaching the twilight of their careers. Are you starting to notice a trend here?
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best players to lace a pair of boots, signed for Al-Nassr at the start of 2023 and is largely regarded as the marquee of all marquee acquisitions for this 18-team league founded in 1976.
Fan favourites in the Premier League of yesteryear like N’Golo Kante and Roberto Firmino also decided to join the Saudi Pro League and in doing so, signed on a dotted line that guaranteed them an almighty pay-check that, even for professional football, would make your eyes burst out of your head.
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Of course, how golfers and footballers are paid is very different. DeChambeau earns money based on where he finishes on the leaderboard in each of the 14 LIV Golf events he competes in, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo has a wage inked in pen on a contract.
Below, we list the highest-paid players in the Saudi Pro League based on their wages according to reported figures and the highest-earning players from the LIV Golf roster based on their prize money tally to date plus their reported sign-on fees.
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Saudi Pro League salaries
Cristiano Ronaldo
Team: Al-Nassr
Annual wage: £178 million
Breakdown: £14,833,333 per month, £3,423,076 per week, £487,671 per day
Karim Benzema
Team: Al-Ittihad
Annual wage: £172 million
Breakdown: £14,333,333 per month, £3,307,692 per week, £471,232 per day
N’Golo Kante
Team: Al-Ittiihad
Annual wage: £86.2 million
Breakdown: £7,183,333 per month, £1,657,692 per week, £236,164 per day
Kalidou Koulibaly
Team: Al-Hilal
Annual wage: £30 million
Breakdown: £2,500,000 per month, £576,923 per week, £82,191 per day
Marcelo Brozovic
Team: Al-Nassr
Annual Wage: £21 million
Breakdown: £1,750,000 per month, £403,846 per week, £57,534 per day
LIV Golf money list (As of LIV Golf Team Championship 2025)
Jon Rahm
Total money: $566 million fee (widely reported figure) + $74,976,946 earnings
Earnings per LIV Golf event: $2,883,728
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Dustin Johnson
Total money: $125 million fee + $60,886,255 earnings
Earnings per LIV Golf event: $1,242,576
Bryson DeChambeau
Total money: $125 million fee + $47,607,131 earnings
Earnings per LIV Golf event: $991,815
Brooks Koepka
Total money: $100 million fee + $44,710,115 earnings
Earnings per LIV Golf event: $931,460
Cameron Smith
Total money: $100 million fee + $47,251,040 earnings
Earnings per LIV Golf event: $1,050,023
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