LIV Golf Faces $1.2M Lawsuit

Afternoon Edition

August 18, 2026

Fresh Tape Media, which produced and operated LIV Golf’s preseason media days event in January, is suing the league for more than $1.23 million in missed payments and interest, according to a complaint filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. It’s the latest company to go public with claims of missed payments from LIV.

—David Rumsey

First Up

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LIV Golf Sued for $1.2M by Company That Produced Preseason Event

Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

As LIV Golf’s rocky 2026 season concludes this week, one of the league’s still-unresolved financial disputes dates back to before the season even began.

Fresh Tape Media, the company that produced and operated the league’s preseason media days event in January, is suing LIV for more than $1.23 million in missed payments and interest, according to a complaint filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York on July 21. Due to the nature of the lawsuit, LIV was formally notified of the complaint only on Monday—the same day it officially announced the cancellation of its $40 million team championship that was scheduled for next week in Michigan.

It’s the latest company to go public with claims of missed payments from LIV, as various vendors and contractors have told Front Office Sports they are also owed money by the league. Mobii Systems Group Limited, a former technology partner of LIV, also sued the league last month for more than $1.1 million for breach of contract, unpaid invoices, and interest.

The Saudi PIF announced in April that it would end its funding of LIV at the end of this season. LIV is in talks with BC Partners Credit about a new funding deal, but nothing has been finalized yet.

Fresh Tape’s LIV Work

The newly revealed lawsuit centers on LIV Golf Week 2026, which took place in West Palm Beach, Florida, Jan. 12–14, with Fresh Tape managing logistics and on-site production. LIV had more than 50 players from all 13 teams in attendance, with the production company filming promotional content for the league and conducting interviews with external media in attendance. Fresh Tape says it transferred over 50,000 images and videos to LIV, some of which appear to still be used today across the league’s social, TV, and digital platforms.

Denver-based Fresh Tape has roughly 20 employees but employed 115 total workers that week, including contractors, all of whom have been paid, company executives told FOS. “We got great feedback from them on the success of the event,” Fresh Tape CEO Jared Kleinstein said. “So, there was no reason to believe that payment would be withheld.” LIV paid about half of the money due in its contract before the preseason event, Kleinstein said. Fresh Tape also operated a smaller-scale preseason event for LIV in 2025, and it was paid in full for those services. Fresh Tape’s other work in sports this year has included the Houston Rockets’ schedule release video and a project with Candace Parker around Amazon’s WNBA coverage, among others.

But LIV has not paid eight invoices that were due between Jan. 22 and March 22, and they range in value from $74,470 to $231,137.40 before interest accrued, according to the suit. LIV “never disputed” any of the invoices, per the filing, and “repeatedly promised that payment was ‘approved’ and/or would be forthcoming.”

On May 8, LIV offered to pay Fresh Tape a $200,000 settlement. “This proposal is made in good faith and is intended to balance LIV Golf’s current financial constraints with a clear, structured and certain payment timetable,” LIV legal manager Jake Cutter wrote in an email cited in the lawsuit. That offer dropped to $150,000 on June 18. “LIV Golf has considered the position further and, in light of its current circumstances, is now only in a position to make a revised proposal to resolve this matter on a commercial basis,” Cutter wrote in another email.

Court Matters

Fresh Tape applied for an ex parte emergency order when it filed its claim July 21—meaning LIV would not be immediately notified of the suit—which was granted by Judge Brendan Lantry on July 30. “We’ve demonstrated to the court that we have a valid claim that there is a strong chance that the defendants do not have the ability to pay it, or are dissipating assets, and therefore, we’re entitled to this release,” Larry Hutcher, one of Fresh Tape’s attorneys, told FOS.

As part of the procedures, Fresh Tape is seeking to have some of LIV’s assets frozen—sheriffs began serving subpoenas Aug. 7 to 10–12 banks in New York that work with LIV; responses are still outstanding. LIV’s legal team was formally notified of the order Monday, but it had not responded as of Monday evening, Hutcher said.

LIV has been approached for comment by FOS.

‘Front Office Sports Tonight’ Coming Soon

Front Office Sports Tonight, the first nationally syndicated daily show built entirely around the business and culture of sports, premieres Sept. 14. Emmy winner Matt Iseman will host the 30-minute show, which will air six nights a week. Air times vary by market, so check your local listings.

ONE BIG FIG

Staying Put

Sep 2, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA; Honey Deuce grey goose signature cocktails for sale on day eight of the 2019 US Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

$23

The price of the Honey Deuce cocktail at the US Open this year, the same as it’s been since 2024, when it went up by $1. The famous cocktail has consistently set sales records every year at the Grand Slam in New York. Last year, the Honey Deuce generated nearly $17 million in revenue, up 32% from 2024.

The Honey Deuce led many other tournaments to create their own signature cocktails. The Australian Open has the Lemon Ace for $16 ($23 AUD), while Indian Wells serves the Drop Shot for $27.

The US Open qualifying week starts Aug. 23, while the main draw begins Aug. 30.

LOUD AND CLEAR

An NFL Team Abroad

Nov 10, 2024; Munich, Germany; A general overall view of a tifo of the United States and Germany flags during the 2024 NFL Munich Game at Allianz Arena.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“At some point, there will be NFL teams outside the USA. I have no doubt that this will happen one day.”

—NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in an interview with German media outlet RTL/ntv while he was in Düsseldorf for the first Olympic qualifier in flag football. The 2026–27 season will see the NFL play a league-record nine international games, including in Munich, London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, and Mexico City. At the league’s spring meeting in May, NFL EVP Peter O’Reilly said: “We’re in the process of exploring what ’27 looks like and there’s a path to 10 [international games] in 2027.” The first international game this season is scheduled for Sept. 10 in Melbourne, Australia, between the 49ers and Rams.

STATUS REPORT

Two Up, Two Down

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Field of Dreams ⬇ The third iteration of MLB’s nostalgia-fueled game drew 1.66 million viewers on Netflix last Thursday night, according to Nielsen. The game, in which the Phillies beat the Twins 7–1, was the first Field of Dreams game at the site of its namesake 1989 film in Dyersville, Iowa. The number was a sharp drop-off compared with the previous games in 2022 and 2021, which drew about 3.1 million and 5.9 million viewers, respectively.

Padres ⬇ Oswaldo Pirela, a catching coach in the Padres’ minor league system, was detained by U.S. immigration officials after arriving in Texas on a work trip for the club. His sister Daniela Pirela said that her brother was detained by ICE at El Paso International Airport early Sunday morning while traveling for work. The team said it was aware of Pirela’s detention and was trying to get more details.

Novig ⬆ The company reported more than $125 million in “notional volume” in its first week relaunched as a federally approved prediction-market platform (notional volume counts the value of each trade as a position changes hands, so the same underlying bet can contribute to the total multiple times). Parlays accounted for one-third of that volume. Novig, which exclusively offers sports event contracts, previously operated under a sweepstakes format before receiving CFTC approval in June.

Venus Williams ⬆ The seven-time Grand Slam and two-time US Open women’s singles champion was awarded a singles wild-card entry to the US Open, the USTA announced Tuesday. One more singles wild card is available, with some expecting Venus’s sister, Serena Williams, to take it. The 23-time Grand Slam champion got a wild card at this year’s Wimbledon, where she lost in three sets to Maya Joint in her first singles match since the 2022 US Open. On Monday the sisters lost their doubles match at the Cincinnati Open, the first they played together since 2022.