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Salesforce asks court to end its $6.75m-a-year LIV deal
Salesforce says LIV's AI fan features displayed errors during live events and wants out of the deal before its next $6.75 million payment falls due on 4 January.
On 4 January, two days before LIV Golf’s relaunch is meant to take effect, Salesforce is due to pay the league $6.75 million. The software company has asked the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey to end the sponsorship before that payment falls due.
The motion, filed on 29 October in LIV’s Chapter 11 case, asks the court to order LIV to reject the agreement, which runs to 2029, Bloomberg Law reports. Failing that, it asks the court to give LIV 14 days, with no extension, to decide whether to keep the contract.
The deal was announced in June 2025 as a shop window for Salesforce’s Agentforce AI. LIV promised a “Fan Caddie” in its app, with shot-by-shot breakdowns and personalised content, and an “Agent Caddie” that would add predicted shot outcomes to its broadcasts.
In the filing, Salesforce says the Agentforce chatbot “displayed errors instead of providing the intended fan experience” during live events and that LIV relied on “manual and hardcoded workarounds, including hardcoding a tournament location”. It also says that midway through the season fans had to leave LIV’s app and use a web browser to watch, and that LIV dropped plans to link the AI to its “Any Shot, Any Time” viewing feature.
The contract required LIV to provide a $400,000 activation fund for 2026. About $375,000 of it was never available, Salesforce says, because LIV did not get approval from the Public Investment Fund, its Saudi owner. The filing also cites the cancelled events in New Orleans and Michigan, which Salesforce says cost it contracted signage, hospitality and media opportunities. It also points to cuts in LIV’s technical staff after the league filed for bankruptcy on 8 September.
Salesforce says it has seen nothing to show that the relaunched league, LIV 2.0, will have the staff, financing, schedule and technology to deliver what was promised. The relaunch depends on BC Partners’ offer of up to $300 million and on enough players signing. About 15 had tentatively agreed by the 25 October deadline for players to commit, the Financial Times reported. Objections to Salesforce’s motion are due by 4pm ET on 12 November, and Judge Michael Kaplan is scheduled to hear it on 19 November.
Sources
- Bloomberg Law: Salesforce aims to end LIV Golf sponsorship deal over AI bugs
- EssentiallySports: $200 billion tech giant targets LIV Golf as bankruptcy and player exodus rock league
- Golferen: Salesforce vil ut av sponsoravtalen med LIV Golf
- LIV Golf: Salesforce and LIV Golf announce strategic partnership with Agentforce
- Front Office Sports via Yahoo Sports: LIV Golf hangs on by a thread as clock ticks on future
- LIV Golf New Jersey LLC: first-day declaration of David Orlofsky (Omni Agent Solutions)
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