Who is compensated better these days: triathlete, swimmer, cyclist, runner?

Triathlon Forum
1

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Professional-Athlete-Salary Professional athletes avg $46,446 annually in the USA

Was going to complain how little prize money TdeF riders earn for 3 weeks of work. Compared to the MILLION$ in prize money for big money sports, it just didn’t seem worth dedicating your life to cycling, swimming, running or competing in triathlons - unless it’s something you want to do. Then I saw what the average professional athlete makes.

After watching the TdeF and considering the length of the cycling season, that would be hardest earned money IMO.

Considering total compensation, sponsors - prizes - etc, who do you think is compensated better: triathlete, swimmer, cyclist, runner?

2

runner and it isn’t even close.

The order is Runner, Cyclist, Swimmer, Triathlete.

3

runner and it isn’t even close.

The order is Runner, Cyclist, Swimmer, Triathlete.

Is this based on the income of the top athletes or the average athlete?

4

I was thinking of the number of athletes earning $480K (what it takes to be top 1% in the US).

Of course then the answer would be age-group ironman participant.

5

I was thinking of the number of athletes earning $480K (what it takes to be top 1% in the US).

Of course then the answer would be age-group ironman participant.

Ok. I’d agree.

6

None over $100k in that chart? Seems a bit questionable. I’d be curious what sports that data is based off of and the sample size.

For any of the sports you mentioned, I’d be willing to bet that 90% of the pros make close to minimum wage, 9% do okay, and 1% of pros are very well compensated. (in the US)

Cody Beals posts his yearly budget from triathlons every year, he’s about as elite as they come (outside Jan, Lionel, Lange, etc.) and he just started clearing 6 figures last year. So I really don’t see much money in triathlon.

In comparison, TDF level cyclists are making considerably more. Domestiques on World Tour teams are clearing $100-500k, Leaders well over $1M

Good cycling source: https://www.skysports.com/…-of-the-peloton-earn

7

in a world where a handful of athletes make order of magnitude more that everybody else… average salary will be meaningless.

Only so many athletes will have their faces on cereal boxes.

8

“Professional athlete” is a pretty broad term. It goes from the superstars making 50-100 million down to Single-A baseball players and minor league hockey making 10-15 thousand a season.

9

None over $100k in that chart? Seems a bit questionable. I’d be curious what sports that data is based off of and the sample size.

For any of the sports you mentioned, I’d be willing to bet that 90% of the pros make close to minimum wage, 9% do okay, and 1% of pros are very well compensated. (in the US)

Cody Beals posts his yearly budget from triathlons every year, he’s about as elite as they come (outside Jan, Lionel, Lange, etc.) and he just started clearing 6 figures last year. So I really don’t see much money in triathlon.

In comparison, TDF level cyclists are making considerably more. Domestiques on World Tour teams are clearing $100-500k, Leaders well over $1M

Good cycling source: https://www.skysports.com/…-of-the-peloton-earn

Somehow the creators of the chart are trying to hit average. Which really has me wondering. There could be many people who consider themselves professional athletes making way less that $46,000; yet they consider themselves professional athletes. Perhaps this is like professional musicians. Many make way less than the average yet they consider themselves professionals.

Is breaking into professional cycling any harder than professional running, swimming or triathlon? This could be quite the study for an economist. With so many wannabe’s, what sport has the easiest route to a payoff? If any.

My hunch is that the compensation might be in line with one’s chance of success against your field of professionals. For example, Egan Bernal has a smaller field of competitors than Michael Jordan. Easier to be Galen Rupp than Aaron Rodgers. Easier to be as successful as Michael Phelps than Lionel Messi / Cristiano Ronaldo given the field size of professionals that your competing against.

Is the marketplace accurate in payouts based on field size of professionals? Would that then make the compensation order: running, cycling, swimming, triathlon given that I think there are more professionals in those four sports in that order.

10

https://www.pba.com/SeasonStats

Similar prize money in bowling to IM
.

11

**The order is Runner, Cyclist, Swimmer, Triathlete. **
I think you have the first two right, but not sure about swimmers and triathletes. I would say over a dozen triathletes are making a 1/2 million and up in the world, another 50 or so between 100 and 400k, are there that many swimmers making that much? I know a few at the top make big bucks, but does it tail off quickly, or a slow descend to the 100 swimmer?

12

runner and it isn’t even close.

The order is Runner, Cyclist, Swimmer, Triathlete.

How much are the top runners earning? Top 20…top 100?

Pro cycling hands out some pretty hefty contracts that don’t include endorsements.
Froome ~$5 million
Sagan ~$6 million
Thomas ~$3.5 million
Bernal ~$3 million
Nibali $2.9 million
Cavendish $3.4 million
Dumoulin $2.5 million
Quintana ~$2 million
Valverde ~$2 million

I have to imagine guys like Viviani, GvA, Porte, Landa, Lopez, Roglic, Aru, Tony Martin, Dan Martin, Yates brothers, Alaphilippe, Gilbert, Stybar, Degenkolb, Matthews, Uran, Kruijswijk, Majka, Pinot, Kwiatkowski, Poels, Rowe are all easily making $800k to $1.5 million. Van Aert and MVDP are going to eventually command big money too.

Usain Bolt was supposedly earning around $10 million per year over 10 years of his prime. I would say that’s significantly higher than what a pro cyclist earns, especially over that length of time. But since he’s retired, has someone stepped up and taken his place as far as earning potential? Are there 15 other guys making $5-7 million per year running? 100 guys making over a million?

Honest question…I don’t follow pro running.

13

Monty, you are a plugged-in guy, but a dozen making $500k seems high. Who would that be?

Ryf
Frodeno
A. Brownlee
Lange
Kienle
Sanders
Charles
Gomez
J. Brownlee

Would people like Mola, Duffy, Carfrae, Potts, O’Donell go on that list? Seems like a stretch as you keep going with it…

Keep in mind that prize purses are only going to be a meaningful contributor to the best among that list

14

runner and it isn’t even close.

The order is Runner, Cyclist, Swimmer, Triathlete.

How much are the top runners earning? Top 20…top 100?

Pro cycling hands out some pretty hefty contracts that don’t include endorsements.
Froome ~$5 million
Sagan ~$6 million
Thomas ~$3.5 million
Bernal ~$3 million
Nibali $2.9 million
Cavendish $3.4 million
Dumoulin $2.5 million
Quintana ~$2 million
Valverde ~$2 million

I have to imagine guys like Viviani, GvA, Porte, Landa, Lopez, Roglic, Aru, Tony Martin, Dan Martin, Yates brothers, Alaphilippe, Gilbert, Stybar, Degenkolb, Matthews, Uran, Kruijswijk, Majka, Pinot, Kwiatkowski, Poels, Rowe are all easily making $800k to $1.5 million. Van Aert and MVDP are going to eventually command big money too.

Usain Bolt was supposedly earning around $10 million per year over 10 years of his prime. I would say that’s significantly higher than what a pro cyclist earns, especially over that length of time. But since he’s retired, has someone stepped up and taken his place as far as earning potential? Are there 15 other guys making $5-7 million per year running? 100 guys making over a million?

Honest question…I don’t follow pro running.

Pro running has a lot of mystery when it comes to pay. Supposedly Drew Hunter makes 250k a year on a 10 year deal with adidas and he isnt anything crazy, good yes, but he isnt an olympian and is right now on outside looking in on making 2020 Tokyo. Rupp and Centro were supposedly making ~500k a year out of college before olympic medal success. I dont know how cycling contracts work but in running you get paid to do certain races, you have multiple sponsors sometimes, you get bonuses for winning races or placing, and so on

15

Ya, most of your 1st and 2nd lists, and keep in mind, that there are athletes in other countries that are the best there, that get paid quite well. May not show up on the top 3 of whatever races we watch results in, but locally they do quite well. The germans were especially well compensated back in the day, I imagine that is still the case.

Like I said, just about a dozen or so though, then it goes down from there. Lots over 100K for sure, but thins out each 100k increment. Dont forget that guys like Vincent Luis and other Euros are making a lot of money right now too, probably put him in the 500k+ category all in. That includes everything too…And some of the top ITU women are probably doing pretty well too, figure the top making over $200K+ in prize money, then endorsements, start fees, travel, bonuses, national team money, etc., it adds up…

I just dont know what the swimmers are getting these days. Are the top guys getting even 1/3 of Phelps money yet, I dont think so. The top top are getting more than the top triathlete for sure, but what is the 20th best swimmer getting? I suppose it is similar that countries are paying the athletes, and if you are a medal contender, probably getting at least a $100k plus bonuses? Is Caleb in the 10 million club yet, I’m thinking maybe if he signed a long term contract, and if he hits certain goals, he might someday approach Phelps $60 million one year take…Kate Ledecky signed at the right time I think, probably got a great front end with lots of bonuses. After this last meet where she was sick, she has to have a redo to cement herself as the undisputed champion of all time in womens distance swimming…

16

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Professional-Athlete-Salary Professional athletes avg $46,446 annually in the USA

I’d guess the largest block of “professional athletes” in the USA are minor league baseball players. Except for the handful of gifted athletes who are drafted high and quickly move up through the ranks, most of the double-A, single-A, and non-affiliated league players get paid like an Assistant Fry Cook at McDonalds.

17

Would say the pool of swimmers making a living from the sport is quite a bit bigger than triathletes, simply because the Olympic program for swimming has so many more events/medals so there’ll be a lot more athletes funded by their national governing body. But there are a lot more sponsors in triathlon than swimming since you’ve got all the bike companies, wetsuits, sunglasses, clothing, nutrition, etc.

So my take would be that if you’re good enough to win some races, get some recognition, and/or do a good job of selling your brand, then the sponsorship opportunities in triathlon mean you can earn more, but for the squad athlete who is very good but not podium calibre then I think it’s easier to earn a living than in triathlon. Suspect the costs of being a triathlete are also a lot higher, needing to travel to races, all the kit you need to train, etc.

18

It’s got to be cyclists, really the only one of those that is a spectator sport to a significant degree.

19

It’s got to be cyclists, really the only one of those that is a spectator sport to a significant degree.

Wonder if the swimmers and runners, think that their sport is less of a spectator sport. I’ve seen the Tour of Switzerland pass by on the road and that was not much of a spectator event (except for the goodies they hand out). If they didn’t make travelogues out of cycling, we would have fewer viewers. With running, I can normally see them pass by more than once during a race. Swimming is the most spectator friendly, in person or on TV, as you seldom miss any of the action.

20

In terms of the most athletes with 1% salaries, it would be cyclists. Pretty much any super-domestique, classics threat, or top-15 grand tour finisher makes that.

In terms of the highest net worth, it’s swimmers. To get into the “G6 money” you need to transcend your sport like Phelps or Lochte (kinda) has. Lance was the only cyclist to get there.

The net net is that by pretty much any measure, triathletes are at the bottom of the list. Small sport. No household names. Modest prize money. Little sponsor appeal outside of marketing to age groupers.