You extremely fall in love with disc golf and spend a lot of time honing your skills to play the sport like a pro. However, have you ever wondered: How much do professional disc golfers make? Is this the direction of sustainable development? Each tournament, how much money can you get?
This article will answer all your questions above. Be sure to get all the helpful information if you want to become a professional disc golf player.
How Much Do Professional Disc Golfers Make?
How much does a professional disc golfer make? According to statistics, the average salary a disc golf professional in the US receives a year is $43,069.
However, the above figures only reflect some information about the disc golf market. To understand how much a disc golf player receives, you’ll need to look at tournament payouts for players over the last five years.
Here are the professional player salaries by PDGA-classified size leagues:
Average bonus amount
Top-tier tournaments such as world championships as PDGA pro tournaments will have outstandingly high total prize money. It allows any player participating in the game to receive fixed payouts.
- The PDGA main tournaments have an average prize pool of $64,929 for the approximately 225 participating athletes.
- The National Elite Series has an average total of $40,159 for 152 players.
- Tier A tournaments typically come with an average prize pool of $22,708, with 122 players.
- The Tier B tournament’s average prize pool is $5,087 for 58 players.
- With a Tier C tournament with a total prize pool of less than $1.598 with 61 players on average.
Bonus amount by rank
The tournament organizers will decide the prize money for the winners in order. And here are the prizes awarded to high-ranked players:
- In the PDGA main tournament, $7,600, $4,203, $3,358, and $2,593 are prizes for the top 5 places, respectively. In subsequent positions, the bonus will gradually decrease.
- In the National Elite Series, the 1st place player receives $4,156, while the 2nd place player gets $2.82. The 3rd and 4th places brought in $2,000 and $1,594, respectively.
- In the Tier A tournament, the 1st place player receives $2,251, the Second place winner receives $2,821, the Third place winner receives $1,129, and the Fourth place winner receives $959.
- In the tier B tournament, the top 5 prizes are $790, $490, $367, $255, and $224, respectively.
- In the tier C tournament, the first-place player receives $281, and the second-place winner receives $185. Meanwhile, the following positions will be equivalent to fixed bonuses of $141, $118, and $98.
Disc Golf Tournament Payouts Have Increased Significantly
In recent years, disc golf has become a trend. Many professional tournaments appear and attract a large number of participants and sponsors.
As a result, those with outstanding disc golf records earn more money than ever.
From 2020 to 2021 alone, the amount a disc golf professional receives for participating in major tournaments has increased from $ 777,306 to $ 1,222,630.
The most prominent is the Golf Pro Tour Championship. This tournament has a total prize value of up to $ 250,000, the highest in disc golf tournament history.
Disc Golf Professionals Earned More Money in 2021 Than Ever
In 2021 witnessed a remarkable growth in the money players receive when participating in disc golf.
In 2020, only a few players had an income above the $10,000 threshold.
In 2021, 20 people will win over $30,000, according to statistics in the US.
Due to the pandemic, the total amount of the 2020 tournaments is only $3,257,522. Meanwhile, in 2021, the total amount has grown by 98% to reach $6,463,571.
Who’s Won The Most Money From Disc Golf?
Considering only the money received from professional disc golf, Paul McBeth is currently the leading player. He participated in 364 events and won 135. His gross income is $599,583 or $651,649 before taxes.
With outstanding records, Paul McBeth is the highest-earning disc golf player.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXmexN4KBH0
How Many Ways Can Pro Disc Golfers Earn Their Living?
Disc golf has only recently become popular. Compared to other famous sports like basketball or football, it is a new sport with few tournaments.
Therefore, professional disc golf players have fewer opportunities to earn than football and basketball players. Yet, they can still be financially successful if they engage in the following activities:
Win the tournament
Winning tournaments big and small is the goal of every professional disc golfer. Winning rewards are also an essential source of income for disc golfers.
Big tournaments such as DGPT or United Disc will give attractive prizes to the highest-ranked person. Usually, the players will receive a reward that ranges from $10,000 – $20,000.
Some smaller tournaments will have relatively modest prize money. The first prize winner will receive between $1,000 – $3,000.
This bonus level is still relatively low when compared to some other sports. In particular, you also need to consider the participating costs in the tournament.
For those who finish in the low position, after deducting a fee, likely, the remaining bonus will be less attractive.
Group Salary
In addition to individual competition, professional players can join and operate in a sponsor team.
In this way, professionals can earn a regular salary. Some quite famous teams like Latitude 64 pay members a large salary.
You can ultimately increase your salary in the group by improving your skills and gaining many achievements.
Sponsor
For professional disc golf players, sponsorship money can be their primary income. Big companies can pay a lot for famous champions in tournaments.
Experienced players can also receive revenue by signing brand ambassador contracts with golf disc companies.
Yet, a brand ambassador is a highly competitive disc golf company. Most players need the opportunity to earn money from sponsors.
You can only access this considerable income when you become top champions.
Paul McBeth is an example. He is the best player in disc golf, sought after by many brands. One of the most significant contracts he’s ever signed was a 10-year, $10 million partnership with Discraft.
With many excellent achievements, such as “Tiger Woods” in disc golf, Paul McBeth fully deserves the above valuable contract.
Do KOL
Disc golf is a younger sport than football and baseball. Yet, it is gaining a certain amount of attention. The number of disc golf courses has tripled quickly, while more young people are playing and interested in this sport year by year.
According to statistics, hundreds of thousands of people are already playing disc golf as their primary sport. If you are a professional disc golf player, you can get the attention of these fans to become a KOL.
Quite a few disc golf players earn extra income by being active in the media.
Setting up a Youtube account and sharing the experience of playing disc golf at major tournaments can help players get hundreds of thousands of registrations.
Or being active on popular social networks like Facebook and Twitter will also support professional players earn living in various ways.
Eagle Wynne McMahon is one of the most successful professional disc golf players in the media. He has a YouTube channel with hundreds of thousands of followers, contributing quite a bit to his annual income.
Produce your products
Some companies specializing in disc golf products, such as disc companies, will often collaborate with the stars in the field.
This cooperation process will produce products associated with the star’s name.
In contrast, professional players are co-producers and PRs for a product line and receive a commission.
Most reputable professional players own at least one product line to their name.
Professionals can also make money by selling discs. If they’re a big player in the sport, they’ll likely have at least one disc with their name on it.
For example, when Ricky Wysocki, in partnership with Innova, came out with his lightweight discs. One of his standouts is the Ricky Wysocki Start Destroyer. It has contributed in no small part to his $500,000 annual income.
Other income
In addition to the primary revenue from winning tournaments and receiving sponsorships, professional disc golf players also have many ways to make money.
Some players build their training programs and collect training costs. A professional golf disc can become a disc golfer.
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Conclusion
How much do professional disc golfers make? The average figure will be $43,069/year for experienced players.
Hopefully, you will become an expert in this field and achieve success in your career. Don’t forget to share your experiences on the path to becoming a professional disc golfer. Thank you for reading!
Further Reading
