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 New York State Supreme Court on July 21. Due to the nature of the lawsuit, LIV was only formally notified of the complaint 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 around 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 which 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, Kleinsten said. Fresh Tape also operated a smaller-scale preseason event for LIV in 2025, and 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 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 on 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—sherriffs began serving subpoenas on 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 on Monday, but had not responded as of Monday evening, Hutcher said.
LIV has been approached for comment by FOS.
