Jon Rahm Admits Securing The Bag Was A Big Part Of LIV Decision In New Interview

Getty Image / Christian Petersen

Reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm shocked the golf world in December when he made the move from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf. Details on Rahm’s LIV Golf contract are scant but it’s believed to be worth somewhere between $300 and $600 million.

Anyone who says they don’t ‘have a price’ has never been offered a check with that many zeroes because everybody on earth has a price, it’s only a matter of whether or not the other side has enough money to meet that price. Jon Rahm has made $51,546,651 on the PGA Tour and had undoubtedly earned millions more in sponsorships, but $300+ million secures his family’s financial stability forever.

Not wanting to trivialize the role that money played in his decision, Jon Rahm faced the topic head-on in a new interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith. Jon Rahm said:

“I don’t wanna skip through this point cause there’s no point, there’s a big change in the way the golfers get compensated. I’d be lying if it wasn’t a big part of it. In a nutshell I’m getting paid to play the same sport and have more time…”

“If you wanna let’s say, improve your position, I think you’re free to go to job interviews. I have the right to do what I think is best for myself and my family. Period. I’ve said it before, as a father and as a husband I have a duty to set my family up as best as possible. Not that we weren’t extremely privileged people, I’m aware of that, but it’s my duty.”

In the interview, Jon Rahm also discussed the backlash from golf fans after making the decision to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf and in the same breath he brought up a potential ‘path back’ for golfers. Rahm also spoke about winning The Masters and how it influenced his decision.

Marty Smith: “Did being a Masters champion make you go ‘okay, no matter what I’ve won the absolute pinnacle of Golf’?”

Jon Rahm: “Well, I didn’t want to look at it that way. Like I said, I’m hopeful there will be a path back into all of those things (PGA Tour). But I can confidently say that if I hadn’t wont the Masters this year I don’t know if I would have done it (joined LIV). (The Masters) definitely set me up in a position where it’s easier to make that change and if I hadn’t won a major I don’t know if I ever would have done it.”

The full Jon Rahm interview with Marty Smith can be seen on ESPN+ where he discusses more about the decision to join LIV and what that means for the future.