more info
I'm waiting on a late night flight coming in at the airport so I did a little digging. The baseball information is from memory, I gave a link to the golf information.
Everything I am talking about is taxable income, nothing under the table or gambling.
Minor league baseball doesn't pay super salaries the last I knew but it is a respectable living wage. Years ago they made from about the same as a top class union worker to roughly twice that, maybe more if they were names. There were some sweet signing bonuses even for going to the minors too.
Wanna feel sick? follow the link at the bottom of each short list to 2006 golf earnings through early November. Tiger made almost ten million in winnings alone. The fifteenth ranked player had no wins, only made 2.75 million but maybe things picked up for him in the last month or two of 2006 after this table was created. Number 93 was the last one on the money list to make over a million. Number 200 made a stinking $163 thousand, he shoulda stayed home.
http://www.pga.com/tournaments/money-leaders/pga_money_leaders.cfm
I think the champions tour is the PC name for the senior tour now. Not nearly as well paid but if you follow the link I think you will see that pro pool players would be thrilled with the pay out. I didn't look at the women but I think they fall between the other two in earnings. The tables are there for anyone to check. There are a lot of people out there who would love to be on the golf tour so I am sure it isn't slouches playing. However I doubt that many of them are more gifted than our top pool players, they just chose a more lucrative path. Just for a comparison, I doubt seriously that the hundredth placed golfer has greater physical abilities than any of our top five pool players. He had one win and only made about $900K, no indication of how much he played or how small the event was.
I didn't check tennis mainly because I don't know the name of their association or how accessible their records are. I occasionally hear the purses for single events mentioned on TV and they are much closer to golf pay outs than pool purses.
Making a living at pool in the US usually requires more than competing. Gambling or other means of income are rarely an option, they are a requirement for survival. I have noticed that "Puyat Sports" from the Philippines seems to sponsor all of the major Filipino players. I often wonder just what that entails. Some other countries provide government backing. Easier to focus and perform well when you aren't playing for the groceries and rent money for this month.
Just at a guess, I would think a player on the road needs to gross a hundred thousand a year or a bit better to make a living wage after expenses. No idea what the numbers are but few US players are making that much in competition. For pool to be viable as a pro sport in the US we have to get at least 3/4 of an average big event's field to that yearly gross. A tall order and in the long term real sponsors and/or enough public interest that the networks will pay for broadcast rights seem to be the only hopes. Short term, I think we need tours for the US pool players to make a living in. I have never suggested that these be the only tours or events in the US but some just want to hit the hype button instead of reading what is written. I do much appreciate you and all of the people on either side of the discussion that engage minds before engaging keyboards.
CreeDo said:
I'm waiting on a late night flight coming in at the airport so I did a little digging. The baseball information is from memory, I gave a link to the golf information.
Everything I am talking about is taxable income, nothing under the table or gambling.
Minor league baseball doesn't pay super salaries the last I knew but it is a respectable living wage. Years ago they made from about the same as a top class union worker to roughly twice that, maybe more if they were names. There were some sweet signing bonuses even for going to the minors too.
Wanna feel sick? follow the link at the bottom of each short list to 2006 golf earnings through early November. Tiger made almost ten million in winnings alone. The fifteenth ranked player had no wins, only made 2.75 million but maybe things picked up for him in the last month or two of 2006 after this table was created. Number 93 was the last one on the money list to make over a million. Number 200 made a stinking $163 thousand, he shoulda stayed home.
http://www.pga.com/tournaments/money-leaders/pga_money_leaders.cfm
I think the champions tour is the PC name for the senior tour now. Not nearly as well paid but if you follow the link I think you will see that pro pool players would be thrilled with the pay out. I didn't look at the women but I think they fall between the other two in earnings. The tables are there for anyone to check. There are a lot of people out there who would love to be on the golf tour so I am sure it isn't slouches playing. However I doubt that many of them are more gifted than our top pool players, they just chose a more lucrative path. Just for a comparison, I doubt seriously that the hundredth placed golfer has greater physical abilities than any of our top five pool players. He had one win and only made about $900K, no indication of how much he played or how small the event was.
I didn't check tennis mainly because I don't know the name of their association or how accessible their records are. I occasionally hear the purses for single events mentioned on TV and they are much closer to golf pay outs than pool purses.
Making a living at pool in the US usually requires more than competing. Gambling or other means of income are rarely an option, they are a requirement for survival. I have noticed that "Puyat Sports" from the Philippines seems to sponsor all of the major Filipino players. I often wonder just what that entails. Some other countries provide government backing. Easier to focus and perform well when you aren't playing for the groceries and rent money for this month.
Just at a guess, I would think a player on the road needs to gross a hundred thousand a year or a bit better to make a living wage after expenses. No idea what the numbers are but few US players are making that much in competition. For pool to be viable as a pro sport in the US we have to get at least 3/4 of an average big event's field to that yearly gross. A tall order and in the long term real sponsors and/or enough public interest that the networks will pay for broadcast rights seem to be the only hopes. Short term, I think we need tours for the US pool players to make a living in. I have never suggested that these be the only tours or events in the US but some just want to hit the hype button instead of reading what is written. I do much appreciate you and all of the people on either side of the discussion that engage minds before engaging keyboards.
You posted 12 times you say, your posts in this thread make more sense now. 
