More than 10 LIV golfers, led by two-time major champion Dustin Johnson, are rallying together in hopes of negotiating with the Public Investment Fund for their unpaid LIV contracts.

The group, whose claims total more than $100 million in contracted payments, seeks what it characterizes as severance deals from the PIF, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that bankrolled LIV Golf until it suddenly pulled the plug in April. Two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson and Thomas Detry are also members of the group.

The group’s public emergence comes just before the Sunday deadline for player commitments to LIV’s 2.0 iteration, although LIV’s new investor, BC Partners Credit, retains the power to push back that deadline. According to a source familiar with the player group’s thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, none of the players in Johnson’s cohort are expected to sign the restructuring agreement between LIV and BC Partners in its current form.

The news of the Johnson-led player group comes amid a flurry of additional LIV golfers announcing they will not compete in LIV 2.0, including Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbon and Ian Poulter. Jon Rahm announced his departure from the league earlier this month.

David Cornwell, Johnson’s long-time lawyer and formerly the general manager of Johnson’s 4 Aces team, represents the group. Many members overlap with the ad hoc group of golfers in LIV’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. Bryson DeChambeau leads that cohort, but he is not working with Johnson and Cornwell in this approach for severance payments.

“Given their reliance on these promises, our group seeks a sensible severance payment as part of the wind-up of LIV,” Cornwell said in a statement to The Athletic. “The decision to release potential claims against the PIF and join LIV 2.0 will be influenced largely by how the PIF manages the wind-up of LIV 1.0.”

Is this the end for LIV Golf?

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Johnson declined to comment through his agent.

According to Cornwell, these banded-together LIV golfers feel they made “career-altering decisions” based on “repeated promises” from the PIF, which strongly influenced their decision to accept recruitment to the league at its inception. He said he believes players are hesitant to sign with LIV for 2027 until they know more about settlements for payments they are owed.

LIV Golf paid out retention bonuses to executives totaling more than $15.6 million, including a $6.375 million payment to CEO Scott O’Neil, in the weeks before the rogue tour filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September.

According to a source briefed on the PIF’s thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, the sovereign wealth fund views itself as an equity investor in LIV Golf that has ceased investing. The source said the PIF is not involved in any conversations with players or their counsel.

The PIF initially offered players 2 cents on the dollar as settlements for those unpaid contracts, according to a separate source briefed on the matter.

Cornwell believes the broader sports business community should pay attention to how the sovereign wealth fund handled the unwinding of its business with LIV.

“The PIF was an honorable business partner until what we regard as its abandonment of LIV golfers,” Cornwell said. “Professional sports leagues and their player unions in the United States, along with sports organizations worldwide, should take notice: the PIF’s treatment of LIV golfers may signal how it will treat professional athletes in other sports. How you do one thing is usually how you do everything.”

LIV expects the settlement process to be handled through the court system. The top seven unsecured creditors and 14 of the top 30 are players. LIV declined to comment for this article.

LIV has not been expected to announce player commitments one by one as it focuses with BC Partners on securing participation in the 2027 season. If it comes to fruition, LIV 2.0 is expected to include 10 events, five in the United States and five worldwide.