To answer the question about an "average" pro, you're probably looking somewhere along the lines of $100-$10,000 a year. Prize money varries quite a bit from race to race with the winner getting only a portion of the $25,000-$100,000 prize purse. Unless you are not going to race (and a sponsor REALLY wants you to go) because you can't afford the trip, you'll be paying your own way to race.

I have no idea what some of the "Big Name" pros get paid in sponsorship; I can't imagine it is very much. I've heard rumors about Jurgen making anywhere from $5,000 to somewhere upwards of six figures from Softride so it's impossible for me to say.

That's my $0.02 anyway...

-gc

The VERY top ranked pros make a good living - not great, but a good living. The problem is that the money drops off fairly dramatically after a theoretical top 5 to Top 10 in the world at both short and long distance racing on both the race winnings front and on the sponsorship front.

It is gradually getting better and it seems like a lot, but the total pool of money in the sport is not that great and can really only sustain the people at the very top. You do not have to go too far down those theoretical lists to find people that are just scraping by, working other jobs full or part-time or are very dependant on the support of a spouse/partner or other benefactor.

Winning Ironman Hawaii can be a huge pay-day in terms of both race winnnings and sponsor bonuses. However, you can be a "pro", have the race of your life, finish 10th and get next to nothing for your efforts. Indeed, based on the expense of a week in Kona, it can be a net loss! Not to knock IMH - It's THE race, but unless you are right up there, and I mean right up there, it can be frustrating. It's a similar situation on the ITU circuit and at some of the other "classic" short races - generous paydays and bonuses for the winners, but a meagre situation for many others.

What's needed: The obvious - more money and a better dispersion of money thoughout the ranks.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Agree completely with Mr. Fleck. The Lifetime Fitness race is a good example of what is wrong with professional races.

John - Can you expand on what you mean here? I guess I just don't get it - I thought that race format was a pretty cool idea.

Dawn

What do you find wrong about the LTF race?...

-gc

Mr fleck writes: "What's needed: The obvious - more money and a better dispersion of money thoughout the ranks."

I agree but more money won't come until there is more big time TV coverage. More TV coverage may mean more participants, which will mean more money for Race directors, more TV coverage and more money for pros. LTF is an example of a good move, not a bad, for this problem. The new Timex multi-sports team is another move in the right direction. Need some other major sponsors to jump in like in Europe for cycling, then we will be on to something.

The big bucks for NFL players or golfers are not there because the stands are full.

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

How is the Lifetime race wrong? Sure there is a HUGE payout to the overall winner, but the rest of the top finishers still make out ok. If I remember correctly the total purse is $500,000 with $250,000 going to the winner. Second place still gets $50,000, third $35,000, 4th $25,000 and 5th $20,000. And the rest of the purse gets divided amongst the top 12 men and top 12 women. That sounds like a great pay day for many of the top triathletes. And remember, this whole race is basically due to ONE relatively small sized health club chain. If the big companies of this country gave just a tiny, tiny portion of their marketing budget towards triathlon prize money we would actually see a lot more talent coming up through the sport.

The problem is that the winner gets $250,000 while the second place male or female gets $50,000 at best. If the lead man or lead woman ends up 6th overall they walk away with only $15,000. So you could win or lose $235,000 based on the arbitary time gap they came up with.

I think it would be better to guarantee prize money a lot deeper and do away with the boys versus girls thing. Or to take that $500,000 and spend it on housing facilities down at the training center in Clermont. Or scholarships for housing.

As Mr. Fleck said, the folks who can win the race are doing pretty well already. You need to get the prize money down to the young, 10th place guy or girl who is living out of their car. Not somebody with a 6-figure Nike/Oakley/Cannondale contract.

Based on the huge purse they are giving away this event will not be around long. It would be nice if they could help the sport as a whole before they go bankrupt.

I didn't know how the prize money was split up. I just knew about the format with men against women. I found it interesting and was pretty impressed that they got the time gap just about perfect to make it a very close finish.

I agree that the prize money should definitely go deeper into the field and with that kind of purse they can afford to do so. Thanks for the info.

Dawn

>>As Mr. Fleck said, the folks who can win the race are doing pretty well already. You need to get the prize money down to the young, 10th place guy or girl who is living out of their car. Not somebody with a 6-figure Nike/Oakley/Cannondale contract.<<

Agreed, spread the money further. And, like someone said, most have to foot their own travel. A race like Alcatraz only paid the first 5 places and I'm sure Macca got his hotel paid for, but most did not. Many of the pros were quite thankful for the homestay program.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com