I figure the top 3 earners in Tri are:
Ali Brownlee
Frodo
Gwen
after that maybe J Brownlee (Gomez, RYF?, Slowman?)
Are these top 3 pulling in anywhere near a million? I figure they are, but could be way off.
There is this:
https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Triathlon/Elite/Prize-Money-Leaders
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There is a short A-List - some of the members of that small group the OP lists. These folks do reasonably to very well with what I am guessing are 6 figure income over the course of a typical year.
After that you drop precipitously down to the much larger B-Group - here there is a range from those who are doing “OK”, to those who, are more or less just covering costs.
Drop from there down to the C-Group and, these are folks that while Professionals, are not making any real money while racing as Pros - if not for other jobs, a generous spouse, or some other mechanism, if standing alone, they are losing money racing triathlons.
There’s a men’s list; http://www.challenge-family.com/worlds-top-50-prize-money-earners-men/
And there’s a women’s list; http://www.challenge-family.com/worlds-top-50-prize-money-earners-women/
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I’m guessing that Prince in the middle east is at the top.
Jimmy Johnson has to be near the top but well below the prince.
After those 2, I’d go with some of the guys in the exec challenge at Kona and the celebrity “racers” (they could even be above Jimmy, but he’s one name I know)
Probably a few guys that race a few times a year in local sprints/Olympics are near the top.
Flecks response is very accurate. I know the A-List athletes are well into the 6 figures with a few around or just over 7 figures.
The A- racers are making a good living racing but these are the fringe athletes that could very easily be in that A-List group on the right year.
B athletes are making a living.
The rest probably shouldn’t be racing as a professional in my opinion, but that’s a whole other topic.
Here is a nicely put together summary from 2015:
http://trstriathlon.com/pro-triathlon-money-list/
However prize money only tells part of the story. I don’t think there is a list or good way to account for sponsorship money, coaching, talks, etc
This is the big one. The sponsorship money for the Brownlees and Gwen I’m sure is huge.
Don’t forget Ryf won $1m last year for the triple challenge
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Don’t forget Ryf won $1m last year for the triple challenge
Many of those $1M prizes are like lottery annuities. The post tax lump sum is closer to $450K (not shabby, but not a “bill” either).
There was a thread on Rinny and T.O.'s house in Boulder. It’s a nice house (but no mansion), and she’s won Kona 3X and he’s podium’d.
There was a thread on Rinny and T.O.'s house in Boulder. It’s a nice house (but no mansion), and she’s won Kona 3X and he’s podium’d.
Not sure how the one’s house is a direct correlation to one’s earnings. Maybe, just maybe, they are saving some of their money in lieu of buying a mansion. Like most professional athletes the length of their career and prime earning years are very limited.
I think Rapp showed in his post about Dimond that good level Ironman athletes aren’t getting paid much by sponsors.
Flora Duffy earned the most prize money last year at $224k. I hae heard that you can triple the prize money for an estimate of total income.
If that is true, the top 5 in the world took home >$500k. I can’t believe that more aren’t doing that though. I mean Alistair Brownlee wasn’t on the list.
There’s no way some of those lists are accurate. One of them has Henri Schoeman at like $6k, you get $30k for winning the Grand Final alone.
Also neither Brownlee appears on any of them and those dudes are definitely in the top earners, although I think Jonny has mentioned in the past that Ali makes more than he does.
EDIT: was looking at 2017. 2016 list looks a bit more accurate.
Don’t forget Ryf won $1m last year for the triple challenge
Many of those $1M prizes are like lottery annuities. The post tax lump sum is closer to $450K (not shabby, but not a “bill” either).
i guess this would depend in which Kanton she pays , tax it could be 22% if she is in kanton schwytz and similar for zug . for instance.
Top tier athletes are likely $200-800k depending on a few things like race winnings.
I don’t know what sponsorship/logo on kits go for today, but about 8 years ago, I know of a sponsor that paid $25k per year to a few of the top pros for the company logo to appear on the front of the suit. This wasn’t a title sponsor, it was #3 or 4 on the kits.
I posted in a separate thread what a 2nd Year “MOP/BOP” Pro is “pulling in”, not sure if that is of interest to you, but remember seeing this thread and thought I would share it over here.
Focus on prize money is just a sign that triathlon is still a sport struggling with structure.
While prize money is nice, sponsor money should be a lot more.
And I am talking about real sponsors. Not equipment manufactures, they do not have the cash.
I figure the top 3 earners in Tri are:
Ali Brownlee
Frodo
Gwen
after that maybe J Brownlee (Gomez, RYF?, Slowman?)
Are these top 3 pulling in anywhere near a million? I figure they are, but could be way off.
I think even to this day, Crowie still makes the most.
Don’t forget how much of a stipend many non US athletes get plus all their support teams that are paid out of federation budgets and government health insurface.
Don’t forget how much of a stipend many non US athletes get plus all their support teams that are paid out of federation budgets and government health insurface.
It is interesting to see how different countries are approaching sports.
One thing that is not smart is to just focus on the olympics.
Why sell something that just happen every 4th year??
The sport should have value by itself. Then the sponsors will recognize it and pay more.