Biado was number one on the 2025 money list with 325k. There were 160 players on the PGA tour who made more than that in 2025. It may be true for tennis, but i feel like golf is a bad analogy.
Kaci, pro pool and prize money
- Thread starter jbart65
- Start date
Comparable for tennis as well. Ella Seidel earned $337,745 in 2025 as the 161st highest earner in women’s tennis. In 2026, halfway through the year, the 284th highest earner in women's tennis, Anastasia Detiuc, has already cleared $100k.
Quite simply, there isn't enough outside money in pool. There isn't enough money in the pool table, cue, chalk, etc. industry for those companies to justify making pool a lucrative profession. Needing to beat 4 of these killers that play today just to break even is an absolute joke.
Exactly right.
It's the same reason WNBA players earn next to nothing. There simply isn't any revenue generated by the games/tournaments themselves to drive larger salaries/purses.
To be blunt, nobody other than a very, very few fans care to pay to watch girls play basketball, or just about anybody play pool. Neither will TV pick up the slack because without significant viewership, advertisers aren't attracted.
It's just an economic fact of life...
really? i thought they drove from phoenix or something
g0ds gReeN
Active member
No, Phoenix started today. Unless Shane was referring to a different trip. That's a good 2 day drive, Miami to Yuma through the flat parts of the south.
I guess the good thing is it's only a 3hr drive to Phoenix from Yuma for a crack at 20 large. And you're already acclimated to the dry heat. I think it's a crisp 112° today
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I remember a time when the payouts for the US open were sketchy and there were a series of big tournaments where checks were bouncing. If memory serves this prompted an attempt to form a players union. Wasn’t Charlie Williams trying to organize that? Anyway pool has progressed some from those dark days even though it has some ways to go.
Badpenguin
Well-known member
Uh, I don't know where you've been lately, but the WNBA has been taking off.
Did you see Sun's next match? He was amazing for the match vs Kaci. Played nowhere near as good in his next match. It was strange to see.
This is somewhat true. There isn't enough revenue generated right now, but that's not an inherent part of pool. That's something that can be changed with investment and development and the pool world simply has not had enough of that.
In 1999, the minimum WNBA salary was ~$50k in today's dollars. This year, with the new collective bargaining agreement, it's $270k.
In 1970, the US Open for tennis had a prize pool of under $1M in today's dollars. In 1999, it was $15.2M in today's dollars. This year, it'll be $90M.
In 2016, the Capcom Cup (tournament for Street Fighter, the video game) had a prize pool of $486k in today's dollars. In 2026, it had a prize pool of $1.28M.
In 1999, the World 9-ball Championship had a prize pool of ~$500k in today's dollars. In 2016, it was ~$276k in today's dollars. Last year, it had a prize pool of $1M.
And the WNBA loses money every year, as do the individual teams.
How long will it continue? For the life of me, I can't understand why it still exists as it is...
superskippy
New member
It's disappointing that there is so little money in (American) pool compared to other cue sports when it is the most popular cue sport worldwide. Snooker and Chinese pool players get way more money, and I think even the ultimate pool English pool players probably make more when you consider they don't have to get on intercontinental flights.
The NBA props it up as part of their 'woke agenda'. It doesn't make much if any profit. All the tranny shenanigans and cat fights keep it in the news.
We AZ'rs see pool from in a bubble, a small one at that. If you talk to any(most??) sports fans they don't even know pro pool exists. Its never going to be popular on the scale like in the places you mention. It is doing better and i'm good with it as it is, i have no delusions of 'pool grandeur'.
If his expenses aren't covered by his sponsors, they are a tax write off. I'm not sure what percentage can be written off.Jay, just out of curiosity, what percentage of, say, $200,000 that a player earns goes to expenses and then taxes. It sure does chop that number down a bit.
I remember Shane Van Boening saying on "60 Minutes" that not many players earn $100,000, or words to that effect.
It is true that there are more opportunities for sure, but along with them go the expenses that are going up, up, and away, thanks to -- well, I won't enter into a political discussion, but I know you know.
100 grand a year is low level living unless all your expenses are paid and that is only a basic living for a small family.
anyone in near the top of their profession making only 100k a year is a failure.
that is about the same as a 50 dollar an hour wage. why the guy that cuts my lawn gets that.
a ditch digger with a shovel only, in a big city makes two thirds of that with no traveling expenses so his salary is actually bigger than most top pro pool players
put your pool cue away and start mowing lawns and make what the pro pool players make. and sleep in your own bed at night.
anyone in near the top of their profession making only 100k a year is a failure.
that is about the same as a 50 dollar an hour wage. why the guy that cuts my lawn gets that.
a ditch digger with a shovel only, in a big city makes two thirds of that with no traveling expenses so his salary is actually bigger than most top pro pool players
put your pool cue away and start mowing lawns and make what the pro pool players make. and sleep in your own bed at night.
snooker has had a steady tour for decades, with a steadily increasing fan base. WNT and PBS are in their infancy by comparison.
the chinese 8b promotors peddle tables to a massive market, have big chinese sponsors, and ad revenue.. it's just a different numbers game there, with anything you sell.
Pool in America still has(maybe always will) the old negative connotations with smoky back rooms, gambling, crime, etc. Snooker did too until Hearn and MR changed everything. Will same happen in US? Who knows.