To be a Pro Triathlete

Nate Parady

Here is a silly question, how do pro triathletes make money.  Seems like the prize money is so little at most events.  The REV series has a decent prize for the top finishers. Why is Ironman series so little? 

So are most Pro Triathletes needing to Coach on the side, get enough sponsors to pay the bills, or have a day job?

Steven Ford

The answer is Yes on all three, sponsors, coaching and day job.

gilliatt

We've had a few pros come out of my local area the last few years. It does not look like a very glamorous lifestyle or as one tri friend said, being a pro looks like a dog's life

Nate Parady

So the lesson here is;;;; Better to be a pro baseball player than to be a pro Triathlete...With the growth in popularity I wonder if that will ever change...I guess the major issue is that its not really a spectator sport. I'm almost suprised there isn't a European Ironman Tour that has a large following...kind of like European Cycling tour..

Coach Patrick

Be a pro ANYTHING before you are a pro Triathlete.

Paul Hough

When my kids used to say they wanted to be pro soccer players, I would toss them a quarter and tell them they were now pro's ... see how far it goes. In track and field, only about 30 athletes can make a true living off the sport; i.e., earn enough to pay current expenses and put enough away to be able to retire when they no longer have the gift. It's the same thing with triathlon. For every triathlete who is winning often and raking in endorsements and a true stipend, there are many dozens who basically just have a pro card and race for the love of the sport. They subsist month to month, rely on home stays at race venues, beg for sponsorship and dream of the big pay day. We think it's cool they get a free bike. They think it's cool that we can just go down and buy one.

kurshing

Even so, I would love to know what Macca or Craig Alexander actually make per year...

Al Truscott

For most, I see it as equal to being a ski bum (which I was for two winters), or a dirt bag rock climber - a fun way to live in your twenties, when not having any money or responsibilities is not necessarily a bad thing if you're having fun.

Nate Parady

Great comments, very funny...

GMAN 19030

Posted By Al Truscott on 24 Mar 2011 10:55 PM

For most, I see it as equal to being a ski bum (which I was for two winters), or a dirt bag rock climber - a fun way to live in your twenties, when not having any money or responsibilities is not necessarily a bad thing if you're having fun.

That's more or less the reality for many of them.  Crashing at a friend's house and so on.

There are very few pro triathletes that make good money -- six figure type money.  There might be a dozen or so guys and maybe two or three females (Chrissie Wellington definitely, maybe Miranda C.).  I could buy and sell just about every other pro triathlete on the planet.

I remember reading a post on ST linking to some pro triathlete's blog with his excuse why he dropped out of some Ironman race.  It said something along the lines of he did it because he knew he had zero chance to make any money and he could save his body and race the next week at a less competitive race and maybe pick up a paycheck.  It was the smart thing to do in that instance as he had a wife and kids at home and he was the sole bread winner.  I did a little poking around on the internet and found out this guy was an Ivy League educated doctor.  I said something along the lines of a truly responsible family man would ditch the pro triathlete gig that he's obviously not good enough to make any money at and use his $500,000 education to support his family.  In true ST fashion I got blasted by all the wannabes because I was hatin' on the dude's dreams.  I got the whole, "Well, Jordan Rapp has an engineering degree from Princeton and he's living the dream as a pro triathlete, blah, blah, blah."  I stated that a) Jordan has never whined about not making any money of his gig and b) if Jordan wrote a blog about how he couldn't financially support his family by racing that I would tell him the same damn thing.

BE RESPONSIBLE!  Your wife and kids are more important than being some D-list pro triathlete.

mancona

Everyone is pretty much spot on.  I'm willing to bet there are no pro triathletes that do it for the money.

I've done some "reseach" into this and can share what I have learned.  I'm sure there are many other situations out there but I have personally talked to folks in B,C,and D groups below about this topic.  BTW, ABCD is just my way personal way of grouping this but in reality it is just a huge spectrum of different types of contracts out there.

Cash compensation for most pros is in the form of incentivites not base pay.  Very few have a steady base paycheck they can live off of.

• A - The legends and very top of the sport, i.e. multiple world champions, hall of fame, etc.  Probably 10-20 people here total over the last 20 years.  They make a comfortable living but are definitely middle class.  They don't have to worry about money but don't have a ton to spend.  Most of them go on to have another job in multisport after racing.  Typcially they have long term contracts with title sponsors and don't have to worry about a bad year or injury impacting their family or well being.
• B - The current top proven contenders (i.e. have won multiple big races, a world championship, or likely to be the next world champ).  Maybe 20-30 of these folks in the world.  They are on salary from at least their title sponsor, get a regular pay check, get insurace.  For the ones I have spoke to the pay is not great, but it is enough to focus on racing and not have to have another job.  Most if not all of their expenses are paid for off and of course most of their equipment/supplies are free.  They tend to still try and supplement their income but it is secondary to racing.
• C - Up and comming or national level pros.  Similiar to above but typically no salary.  Just somoe expenses paid plus all the product they need.  Typically these are the pros that have a second job coaching or doing something else in the sport as they could not survie off of race winnings alone.  They are either doing it becuase they love it and are living a dream or they think they have a shot at moving up the food chain.  There is a ton of varriance in this group and some make nothing while others do quite well due to multiple contracts or side jobs....depends on the individual.
• D - New pros and top age groups.  Very little to no cash involved.  Some bonuses for placing at world championships but that is about it as far as cash.  Product can be free from key sponsors but others offer "pro" discounts.  I personally have "pro" discounts as low as 20% and as high as 80% so this can very a TON.  Many perks but no way to support yourself, much less a family at this level.

Keep in mind that the higher up the ladder they go the more that is asked of them as well and the more pressure they have.  Just like moving up the corporate ladder.  More money = more responsibility.

I am in group D as an AGer and I want to race as an elite for a number reasons.  I have no desire to try and make a living off of triathlon and fully intend to keep my day job that pays the bills.  I simply want to earn the right to race with the best and see how much more I can improve personally.  Plus there are many other benefits of being elite (i.e. race entry up until the week before the race, much lower entry fees if any, race/transition checkin,  first wave etc.)  Financially, I just want to get to the point that I earn enough compension that the net cost of triathlon is zero for me, I don't care if I ever make a profit of a dollar or not.

Chris G

 I would just like to add that while I have never been a pro triathlete, I have been a ski bum and being a ski bum is way more fun that being a pro triathlete.  Putting the money issues aside [kinda hard to do] go watch "what it takes".  I think that is the name of the movie.  Anyhow one of the pro's in it is Peter Ried who at the time had won 2 or 3 times in Kona.  His life looks miserable.  Starving himself, training alone all the time, generally depressed about things.  There is one scene where he is in San Fran getting paid for a motivational speaking thing and he is about crying on a hotel balcony.  Very motivational.  That movie made me realize that not only do I not have what it takes but have no desire to.

Nate Parady

thanks for the info...I will check out the movie for sure...I think coach P said it best,"Be a pro ANYTHING before you are a pro Triathlete."

@Matt, the ABCD description is a great way to explain it.

Paul Hough

@ Chris - I have the "What it takes DVD". His life sure didn't look like fun, but it was apparent throughout that the reason behind his depression was his break-up with his pro-triathlete wife and her subsequent re-marriage. He was definitely emotionally distraught over the divorce and wore it on his sleeve. He also had a severe illness that year. His training alone was a personal preference, but the food deprivation really caught my attention...that took real discipline. And despite all the problems that year which caused people to write him off, he still made a top five (third?) podium spot at Kona.

@ Matt - I was a minor "elite" runner in my 20s and felt the same way...just trying to offset the cost of my hobby. I had paid entry fees, 8 shoes per year, miscellaneous running gear and outfits...that's it. I targeted races with anything but a trophy...cash, dinner, shoes, gift certificates, whatever. I never won more than $300 in a single race, and hit the jackpot once getting $650 for a series. I'm glad I kept my day job!

Jim Yanoschik

Interesting story along those lines.  We had a local Southern California stud that was on scholarship for running at college who won most of the local triathlons.  He needed a ride up to the Vineman race in Northern California.  The race director had a comp entry for him because he had won his age group the year before in the Half Vineman and Full Vineman  2 weeks later.  When no one else came forward, I volunteered as a last resort.  But I was taking a couple of days to drive up because we wanted to stop along the way with our dogs to run on the beach.  Well I told him that I had reservations at Motel 6 halfway up and then in Santa Rosa thinking that he would make some reservations.

We get to the Motel 6 on the first day, and it turns out he had planned to sleep in the car.  I got him a seperate room for that night.  When my wife and I were going out to dinner of course we invited him.  He brought out a trash bag full of PowerBar samples and that he was fine.  He had planned to eat those the entire weekend.  Of course he did not make reservations and my wife was good enough to allow him to sleep in our room in Santa Rosa near the race site.  We told him that we were going to "sponsor" him for the weekend.  When we went out to eat we would pay for anything he wanted.  I didn't realize that he had a tapeworm!!

He was very courteous and we had a great time.  He won his age group and because he was underage they gave him sparkling cider instead of wine.  Vineman gives the age group winners a bottle of wine.  The life of a second tier pro is very tough.  If you live close enough to a race venue, I would highly recommend offering a home stay, especially if they are from another country.  You can learn a lot from them.