# What do the top pros earn - ballpark?



## OldZaskar (Jul 1, 2009)

Aside from endorsements, etc., any idea about what these guys earn - both team salary and purses?


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

my GF asked this q recently...so, I did a little googling...

entry-level salaries were in the $30K range...

name-brand riders were earning $1M and up.

Lance reportedly made $5-8M in one season.


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

Oxtox said:


> my GF asked this q recently...so, I did a little googling...
> 
> entry-level salaries were in the $30K range...
> 
> ...


That's about the range I've concluded as well.


With the name-brand riders, their base salaries basically pays the taxes on their endorsement salaries. That's how I look at it.


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## bumpyknuckles (Jul 21, 2011)

I have a good link but not enough posts to link it.
Just google 'what the pros earn cycling tips'


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## dougydee (Feb 15, 2005)

bumpyknuckles said:


> I have a good link but not enough posts to link it.
> Just google 'what the pros earn cycling tips'


Good read.
How Much Money Do PRO Cyclists Make? | Cycling Tips


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

The earning ranges are much broader than indicated in that. Some of the best domestiques make $300-500k. Armstrong's team was extremely well paid with Roberto Heras pulling down $1.2m. He was replaced by Jose Asvedo at the bargain rate of $350k. Boonen's best helpers get paid well as did Cavendish's. Many times the "well paid" guy in a Pro Continental team will be a VERY well paid big-name rider because that rider earns the team invites to the big races. Think Alessandro Petacci and Danilo DiLuca on LCR.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

davidka said:


> The earning ranges are much broader than indicated in that. Some of the best domestiques make $300-500k. Armstrong's team was extremely well paid with Roberto Heras pulling down $1.2m. He was replaced by Jose Asvedo at the bargain rate of $350k. Boonen's best helpers get paid well as did Cavendish's. Many times the "well paid" guy in a Pro Continental team will be a VERY well paid big-name rider because that rider earns the team invites to the big races. Think Alessandro Petacci and Danilo DiLuca on LCR.


Very true! Heras could have been a contender for podium though, Azevedo too, perhaps.

Still, when this topic comes up, I am always dismayed that some of the no-name pro domestiques in TdF could be making "only" 40-50K or so. So much suffering and hard work (plus talent of course), risks etc. and all for measly 50K?


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## burgrat (Nov 18, 2005)

Channeling my inner Phil and Paul, I'd say they earn a salary of suffering with free room and board in the house of pain.
As far as real money, what those guys above me said. What I'd like to know if they can write off certain expenses as "work-related" (ie. travel to Spain for training, "work seminar" with Dr. X, etc). :thumbsup:


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## iclypso (Jul 6, 2011)

His own clothing company notwithstanding, I wonder a super-domestique/household name like George Hincapie is paid. The success of the riders around him is impressive, indeed. From the team perspective, any idea what it costs to support each team member?


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## rgg01 (Jun 21, 2011)

The rumour on Cav was that his new Sky deal was worth 1.5m pounds per year, about twice his old HTC rate. But for those guys you have to factor in bonuses for stage wins, points etc. The big deals are obviously sponsorship and image rights. I had read somewhere ages ago that it was traditional for the big name in a team that acheived a podium to split the prize among his helpers, don't know if this is true but it sounds good. Was the Lance figure above including endorsements or just salary?


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

Cadel Evans is now getting 3.4 Million/year on a 3 year contract and Philippe Gilbert is getting 3.8 Million/year - also on a 3 year contract.

(This is according to an article in the newest issue of Road Bike Action)

When Cav left HTC (aka: HTC folding), he was still "only" getting $1 million/year.


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## jlandry (Jan 12, 2007)

dougydee said:


> Good read.
> How Much Money Do PRO Cyclists Make? | Cycling Tips


Great website. Thanks.:thumbsup:


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## OldZaskar (Jul 1, 2009)

Very glad to see these numbers so high. While no where near the NFL/NBA/MLB type of incomes, it sounds like the pro cyclists may make more on a "dollar:fan" ratio (recognizing it's a bigger spec' sport outside the US).


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## nathanbal (Feb 23, 2009)

BRW in Australia has released its top Aussie sports earners and Cadel is supposedly earning AUD$5m per year. Assume that includes endorsements, etc.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

rgg01 said:


> Was the Lance figure above including endorsements or just salary?


With endorsements Lance's salary at his peak was somewhere in the $15 - $20 million per year range. He was listed as one of the top earning US athletes for a couple years running on CNNSi.com


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

55x11 said:


> Very true! Heras could have been a contender for podium though, Azevedo too, perhaps.
> 
> Still, when this topic comes up, I am always dismayed that some of the no-name pro domestiques in TdF could be making "only" 40-50K or so. So much suffering and hard work (plus talent of course), risks etc. and all for measly 50K?


You know the saying, "keep your friends close, your enemies closer"? Heras was pretty good but the Tour was just too tough for him. He needed more tranquil days between the big mountains to have good performances. Rumor was USPS wanted him gone after the 2nd TdF because he was a liability. The USPS (and Banesto before them) strategy was to be well funded enough to higher 1st tier talent to support a "sure thing" like Lance or Indurain. 

Aitor Gonzalez famously won the Vuelta over his team mate Oscar Sevilla while earning $46k/yr. Sevilla was pulling down something like $750k/yr at the time. 

WOW @ the BMC salaries. There are teams operating on annual budgets less than those numbers! I think Cadel has been "diversified" out of a real chance at defending the title. Too many other interests in that team. Saxo and Radio Shack will come with equal or greater total talent and a singular purpose.


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## Doctor Falsetti (Sep 24, 2010)

When Levi was shopping around for a new team a friend of mine who works for a Pro Tour team said he was asking for $1,000,000. Add in Image rights and other sponsorship and it could be double this figure. David Millar earned over $500,000 a year on image rights alone.

Hincapie is making around $1 million a year in Salary. Add in more for image rights and endorsements


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## Special Eyes (Feb 2, 2011)

OldZaskar said:


> Very glad to see these numbers so high. While no where near the NFL/NBA/MLB type of incomes, it sounds like the pro cyclists may make more on a "dollar:fan" ratio (recognizing it's a bigger spec' sport outside the US).


Glad? You got to be kidding? Sure I think these guys are great and devote their lives to their trade, but this is getting like baseball or basketball now. It's outa control. 3 to 6 million for a ballplayer? 3 million for a cyclist? It's an insult to every working professional of various types. I've mastered my trade/career, own the company, worked in the field for 40 years. I help to save lives and ensure a better quality of life for many people. I won't earn 3 million dollars in TEN years. Get real, people. This is only contributing to the destruction of our country. Oh, I forgot, it's called 'celebrity'.

Rant over.


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## OldZaskar (Jul 1, 2009)

Special Eyes said:


> Glad? You got to be kidding? Sure I think these guys are great and devote their lives to their trade, but this is getting like baseball or basketball now. It's outa control. 3 to 6 million for a ballplayer? 3 million for a cyclist? It's an insult to every working professional of various types. I've mastered my trade/career, own the company, worked in the field for 40 years. I help to save lives and ensure a better quality of life for many people. I won't earn 3 million dollars in TEN years. Get real, people. This is only contributing to the destruction of our country. Oh, I forgot, it's called 'celebrity'.
> 
> Rant over.


Well, look who picked the wrong career.


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## jmitro (Jun 29, 2011)

@Special Eyes......while I don't disagree with you, the vast majority of pro athletes have relatively short careers. The nature of maximum fitness/competitiveness being what it is limits the lifespan of a competitive athlete to a "few" good years. Once the sport is done with them, they have to assume normal careers like the rest of us with very few exceptions like Hinault, Merckx, or Armstrong who will be eternally linked to the sport and can retain income even after finishing their competitive lifespan.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

Special Eyes said:


> Glad? You got to be kidding? Sure I think these guys are great and devote their lives to their trade, but this is getting like baseball or basketball now. It's outa control. 3 to 6 million for a ballplayer? 3 million for a cyclist? It's an insult to every working professional of various types. I've mastered my trade/career, own the company, worked in the field for 40 years. I help to save lives and ensure a better quality of life for many people. I won't earn 3 million dollars in TEN years. Get real, people. This is only contributing to the destruction of our country. Oh, I forgot, it's called 'celebrity'.
> 
> Rant over.


There are people who "earn" at a rate that make the highest paid athletes seem cheap (how about the NFL earnings being split 50/50 players/owners). I have no problem with a cyclist earning $1, $4, $5 million at all. The pay is justified by the revenue the sport attracts. Really, it's not enough.


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## superflylondon (Aug 24, 2008)

I think Chris Rock said it best, Shaq is rich. But the guy who signs his cheques, he's wealthy.

I kind of wish the cyclists made more based on the effort they put out.... but it's not a sport you can really make money the traditional ways pro sports does. Attendance for one.


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