I was just looking at the updated player rankings and this years earnings, and I wonder what would be considered a decent annual salary for a professional pool player? Obviously, it kinda depends on your lifestyle, family dependents, cost of living where you live.....but I noticed many have made $50,000+ already this year....what is your opinion on this? I'm talking about an average pro who doesn't look to gamble his earnings, and just wants to make a decent living playing pool............
A Decent Annual Salary?
- Thread starter wahcheck
- Start date
wahcheck said:
You have to make a lot more then that because the earning years are limited and uncertain, not to mention there is no benefits, I am self employed and pay $1100. a month just for health insurance. I could not imagine what it would cost with kids and so on, $50,000 is not much just break even for most small families.
If the player wakes up tomorrow and his game has slipped he is out of business. The player has to earn well above what is just their cost of living, several hundred thousand a year or more I would think to maintain a lifestyle raise a family and have something to show for it later. The career could be very short.
That's why it is not really a profession but just something to do then you move on to something else, but what? They will not trained for anything and don't have marketable skills. The future could be very limited. I have to say again, no benefits that's rough. Try to get health insurance as a 45 year old with pre existing conditions. The end years for a pool player with nothing else could be very grim.wahcheck said:
I need to add, the reason I say so much is you have to have money to invest and save and you don't know how long your earning years are. If you are just scraping by you will end up with nothing.
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I'd say that, at very least, a pro player should be on equal footing as a middle class person earning $50,000 + bonus + medical, dental, and retirement benefits. Perhaps that's about the equivalent of $90,000 with no beneifts of any kind. Still, the pro player surely has $15,000 in expenses, so let's make that $105,000. Also, the middle class worker making $50,000 has both disability insurance and unemployment insurance. Better make that $120,000 in gross earnings to be on even footing. Add in a year end bonus of $5,000 and we're up to $125,000, and that's without profit sharing and employee stock ownership plan benefits.
Still, in the long run, the worker earning $50,000 plus bonus plus medical, dental, retriement, disability and unemployment benefits is better off than the pro player earning $125,000, because the worker is developing marketable, transferable skills, that make continued earnings growth likely over time. In contrast, the pro player is developing nontransferable skills that fade and, ulitmately, disappear over time.
Also, employees are often entitled to partial or full pay even when they don't work in certain situations such as a) Family and Medical Leave Act absences, and b) when they serve jury duty. Finally, employees are entitled to a certain amount of severance pay if their employment is terminated.
I feel strongly that the worker earning $50,000 plus full benefits would be trading down if they went to the IPT and earned the alleged minimum of $100,000 in 2007.
Still, in the long run, the worker earning $50,000 plus bonus plus medical, dental, retriement, disability and unemployment benefits is better off than the pro player earning $125,000, because the worker is developing marketable, transferable skills, that make continued earnings growth likely over time. In contrast, the pro player is developing nontransferable skills that fade and, ulitmately, disappear over time.
Also, employees are often entitled to partial or full pay even when they don't work in certain situations such as a) Family and Medical Leave Act absences, and b) when they serve jury duty. Finally, employees are entitled to a certain amount of severance pay if their employment is terminated.
I feel strongly that the worker earning $50,000 plus full benefits would be trading down if they went to the IPT and earned the alleged minimum of $100,000 in 2007.
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Been saying the same to young players for years. Don't look for the gravy train - enjoy the game.
You can't enjoy pool if it is your job surely?
You can't enjoy pool if it is your job surely?