We have lots of discussions about how much money pros make, but have very little quantified info. I can’t find an annual tally anywhere, or an easy way to do it in retrospect (mostly because wtc disappears the prize purse amount of a race once it’s over).
So I’ve decided to track this. Below are the prize winnings of the top 20 men and women from October through December 2014.
It includes all 7 Challenge and 15 WTC half and full ironman races in that period.Amounts are in US dollars.Some of these athletes also race oly distance. Their winnings at those races are not included.Challenge payouts were about $700,000, and WTC about $1.2 million. For each it was about 25% of their annual payouts.
A few observations:
The top 6 men and the top 5 women were on the podium at either Kona or Bahrain (Rachel Joyce did so at both).
About 135 men and 135 have won some amount of money in that time.
Places 21-50 range from $10,000 down to $3000.Places 50 - 100 range from $3000 down to $1000.The rest are less than $1000, down to $200 (10th place at a Challenge half ironman).Helle Fredericksen also won HyVee (not included here), so probably making her the top long course prize winner in 2014, or maybe close with Gomez.
I know you didn’t include Oly races as well but that might be an important part to include. Didn’t Helle win like $100k for her win at Hyvee Elite Cup?
Really good info.
Here’s some of my observations on your data:
The drop off from not being at the very top is steep. This period covers one quarter of the year, but it is probably the most lucrative quarter, containing both Challenge Bahrain and Kona. With the notable big name exceptions of WTC middle distance champs, Challenge Roth (and any that I have forgotten), the rest of the year has much less available. This year-end weighting will probably grow with the new triple crown. Presumably these are headline prize figures (pre-tax). This wildly influences the actual value to the pros. (Bahrain for example has 0% income tax, but I’m not sure if this is classed as income. US citizens have to make up the difference anyway.)Nonetheless this data shows very clearly just how much long course pros rely on sponsorship just to survive if they are outside the very top.
For this group (top 20 earners), the women earned more than the men ($645330 vs $684420). That’s on average $1954.50 difference per person on the list. However I think that this is more reflective of Rachel Joyce’s podium in both races than anything else.
I know you didn’t include Oly races as well but that might be an important part to include. Didn’t Helle win like $100k for her win at Hyvee Elite Cup?
Also, adding 70.3 WC would change things a little. Daniela Ryf, Frodeno, Jodie Swallow did relatively well from a $ perspective.
I suspect the dropoff from the very top will level from May to September. The prize money available then is quite large, but will be spread among a number of athletes (instead of being concentrated in two races).
Here’s a fun guessing game: How many athletes will win more than $100,000 from long course in a year? How many will win more than $50k?
It is shocking how LOW these numbers are. Those dudes put in a TON of HARD HARD work, and have so little to show for it.
This is all pre tax $$. And there are no benefits included in these prize purses. Considering the travel and lodging all over the world, what is the true break even point for a triathlete?
It is shocking how LOW these numbers are. Those dudes put in a TON of HARD HARD work, and have so little to show for it.
This is all pre tax $$. And there are no benefits included in these prize purses. Considering the travel and lodging all over the world, what is the true break even point for a triathlete?
Depends on the number of events raced, proximity from home, home tax rate, etc so it will vary for each pro. That said, I’d be willing to be most of them are either in the red or barely in the black.
Subtract 50% for taxes then we have an accurate tally.
Most countries view prize money as income and many have tax rates between 30-60%.
50%?!?! I don’t know any jurisdiction with that high of taxation.
Because of the extreme variability of taxation among athletes of different countries, using the gross winnings provides a better picture of the overall state of pro triathlon compensation.
Just working on an extended 2014 list (including Challenge races, MetaMan and Abu Dhabi, also 70.3 Champs and Bahrain), will be released as part of my 2014 Rating Report (end December or early January). Teaser: I only have six athletes at 100.000$ or more.
Subtract 50% for taxes then we have an accurate tally.
Most countries view prize money as income and many have tax rates between 30-60%.
Not that simple. Since triathlon is their profession, they likely don’t file as individuals. They get to subtract expenses from that. So it won’t cut it nearly in half. You’d have to know their income from sponsors to know what they pay in taxes and what all they write off. It’s not that simple. Also if they set aside any money into retirement accounts. Plus healthcare premiums and expenses. Then you have coaching, which is probably fields separate of that.
Subtract 50% for taxes then we have an accurate tally.
Most countries view prize money as income and many have tax rates between 30-60%.
Not that simple. Since triathlon is their profession, they likely don’t file as individuals. They get to subtract expenses from that. So it won’t cut it nearly in half. You’d have to know their income from sponsors to know what they pay in taxes and what all they write off. It’s not that simple. Also if they set aside any money into retirement accounts. Plus healthcare premiums and expenses. Then you have coaching, which is probably fields separate of that.
You can write off similar amounts to being an independent contractor, IE generally most things which help you collect income. Even food, for example if Rinnie eats 3000cal per day at 115 or so pounds and a normal female might eat 1500 cal you can write off a certain amount of daily groceries which contribute to performance, same with travel/training expenses, a certain amount of training space as a % of house expenses etc.
At least in Canada, the code IIRC was something like “artist and/or athlete” IIRC you can also carry losses forward or back, for example if you were a doctor/nurse/physio/electrician etc and you quit your job to be a first year pro and didn’t make much you could carry losses back 3 years or forward 7.
I think most athletes who are making even a little bit should spend a few hundred on a good accountant.
Subtract 50% for taxes then we have an accurate tally.
Most countries view prize money as income and many have tax rates between 30-60%. //
What matters is what is paid at the end of the year. I will bet that virtually all of the people on this list will pay little to no taxes. certainly once you get out of the top 5 or 10…
Just working on an extended 2014 list (including Challenge races, MetaMan and Abu Dhabi, also 70.3 Champs and Bahrain), will be released as part of my 2014 Rating Report (end December or early January). Teaser: I only have six athletes at 100.000$ or more.
Awesome, glad you’re expanding your list to include Challenge races. Will you be including all half ironmans, or just the WTC and Challenge 70.3 championships?
