It’s a valid question if you are considering going that route. If you aren’t interested in pursuing the life of a pro, it’s always fun knowing how much money all those disc golfers are making on the pro tour.
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Professional Disc Golf Pay Scale
According to the website Paysa, Professional Disc Golfers made an average of $116,037.00 in 2018. This pay scale ranged from the lowest 25% of disc golfer professionals making less than $62,970.00 annually and the highest 75% making more than $145,198.00 in the same year. The top 10% of pros made more than $213,198.
You can view a graph of this breakdown on their website.
How Do Professional Disc Golfers Make Money?
The most obvious way professional disc golf earn money is by playing in and hopefully winning disc golf events and tournaments. Players that win or place high can come away with some considerable cash and the higher the caliber of the event, the more money there is to win.
For instance, at the 2018 United States Disc Golf Championship in Rock Hill, South Caroline, a big name in the Sport, Paul McBeth won the event. His Prize money was $10,000.00. Second place, James Conrad took home $6,000.00.
Another way pros make money is through sponsorships. Disc Golfers can be sponsored by Disc Golf Manufacturers and other disc golf related equipment makers. These companies can provide players with a salary, pay them to play in events, provide money for food and lodging while they are on tour and give them the equipment they need to play the game.
We all know that players sponsored by Innova use discs made by Innova. Likewise, players that play for Discraft use discs manufactured by Discraft.
Professionals can also make money through disc sells. If they are a big name in the sport, they will likely have at least one disc with their name on it. For instance, when Ricky Wysocki joined Innova, he got his name on some discs. One of which is the Ricky Wysocki Start Destroyer When these discs are sold, players receive a small cut.
Along with sponsorships and tournament winnings, players can use their fame and notoriety to make money in other ways. Some are paid to host clinics, give speeches and to commentate for disc golf events.
Others can sell disc golf training videos or provide private coaching. Finally, others have launched their own brands or became social media personalities.
One of these examples is Eagle McMahon who has his own YouTube channel called Eagle’s Vlog. Check out one of his videos below.
https://youtu.be/40tKuRZTK6I
Final Thoughts
If you are dreaming of becoming a disc golf star, I hope this article has inspired you to pursue your dream. You can make a living playing disc golf and a lot of players are doing it right now. If you aren’t in that camp, I hope you learned something about the business of disc golf.
Flickr Image Creative Commons Credit – Pictures of Money