The biggest name in YouTube golf got heat from fans for signing with LIV Golf. Now, it owes him $1.4 million.
LIV Golf has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and owes over $1 million to prominent golf YouTuber Rick Shiels. The Saudi-backed league is seeking to restructure its finances while owing significant sums to various creditors.
Why it matters
The bankruptcy highlights the financial instability of the high-spending rebel golf tour and its impact on individual content creators and athletes.
Rick Shiels has over 3 million YouTube subscribers. David Cannon/Getty Images LIV Golf, the rebel golf league backed by Saudi Arabia, filed for bankruptcy protection this week. Court documents showed that LIV owes golf's biggest YouTuber, Rick Shiels, $1.4 million. Shiels, who has over 3 million subscribers, faced backlash after signing a deal with LIV in 2025. Saudi-funded rebel golf tour LIV has revealed it owes Rick Shiels, the sport's biggest social media star, more than $1 million. LIV Golf attracted some of golf's top stars by offering huge paychecks when it launched in 2022. On Tuesday, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. On its list of current largest creditors is Rick Shiels Media, the company run by Shiels, a golf instructor turned YouTuber who now has over 3 million subscribers on his main channel.
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