LIV Golf duo Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson earned twice as a lot as NBA nice LeBron James and footballing legend Cristiano Ronaldo prior to now yr because of their Saudi swap. LIV Golf emerged final summer season, and has greater than made its mark on skilled golf.

The breakaway circuit has discovered itself at struggle with the PGA Tour, after luring in an entire host of massive names because of the backing of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. Players becoming a member of the LIV setup have benefited from mega-money signing charges and profitable event prize pots.

Two gamers who've soaked within the wealth greater than most are American stars Mickelson and Johnson. The former Masters champions have been two of the most important names to hitch the Saudi-funded sequence final June, and acquired two of the league’s largest payouts.

Reports prompt that Mickelson earned a cool £162million for signing on the dotted line with Greg Norman and co, while Johnson raked in round £100m. The numbers in on-field earnings have been eye-watering too, and have been considerably bigger than the earnings of sporting giants James and Ronaldo.

According to Forbes’ wealthy listing, Mickelson made £83.6m from competing throughout 2022, while inaugural LIV champion Dustin Johnson earned £82m. This is in comparison with Lakers poster boy James, who introduced dwelling £35.8m on the courtroom, while Ronaldo made £37m on the again of his transfer to Saudi League aspect Al-Nassr.

Whilst Mickelson and Johnson are little question having fun with life, their transfer to insurgent league has include some penalties. The pair have been each suspended from the PGA Tour following the swap and acquired widespread criticism, with the LIV mannequin famous by many as a sportswashing train of Saudi Arabia.