There are six golfers on Sportico’s 2025 rich list, with Jon Rahm cracking the top 10 and Tiger Woods falling out of the top 40.
Golf’s financial growth reaches new heights in 2025, with six players included in Sportico’s annual list of the world’s 100 highest-paid athletes.
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It’s surprising that Tiger Woods doesn’t crack the top 40, as the LIV Golf deal and rising PGA Tour prize money reshape the sport’s profitability landscape.
Photography: Montana Pritchard/PGA of America via Getty Images
Golfers on list of highest-paid athletes of 2025
The six golfers have combined earnings of more than $430 million this year, according to Sportico. The list includes three players from LIV Golf and three from the PGA Tour, showing how both sides are now earning record paydays in the competition.
Here’s the full list of golfers entering Sportico’s 2025 rankings:
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Jon Rahm — No. 10 — $100.7 million — LIV Golf (Legion 13)
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Rory McIlroy — No. 14 — $91.2 million — PGA Tour
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Scotty Scheffler — No. 16 — $82.9 million — PGA Tour
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Bryson DeChambeau — No. 23 — $62.7 million — LIV Golf (Crushers GC)
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Tiger Woods — No. 41 — $55 million — PGA Tour
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Joaquin Nyman — No. 63 — $47.2 million — LIV Golf (Torque GC)
Jon Rahm leads all golfers on the list, ranking 10th with total earnings of $100.7 million. His 2023 LIV Golf contract remains one of the largest in professional sports.
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He’s followed by Rory McIlroy in 14th with $91.2 million, boosted by a career major, and Scottie Scheffler in 16th with $82.9 million after another dominant PGA season.
LIV’s influence remains evident later in the list. Bryson DeChambeau ranks 23rd with earnings of $62.7 million, while Joaquin Niemann ranks 63rd with $47.2 million — both benefiting from guaranteed contracts and growing sponsorship deals.
Tiger Woods, meanwhile, fell to No. 41 with $55 million, mostly from endorsements, his Sun Day Red brand and the TGL Virtual Golf League.
Golf’s New Financial Era
The 2025 rankings highlight how golf has become one of the highest-grossing sports in the world, well ahead of where it was in the past.
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The divide between PGA and LIV golfers shows two different models — traditional bonuses and endorsements versus guaranteed contracts and team equity — both of which are driving revenue higher than ever before.
Tiger Woods’ fall out of the top 40 marks a generational shift. The new name at the top reflects a sport that now rivals football, basketball and Formula 1 in terms of revenue potential.
With LIV’s guaranteed deal and the PGA’s increasing payouts, golf’s financial growth shows no signs of slowing.
READ MORE: PGA Tour champion delivers shocking verdict on Brooks Koepka after serving LIV
