Proud Professionals

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Jason Robichaud

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
How much $$ will be required before professional pool players can take pride. We have Mike and Mark talking about added money and new tours etc and I was wondering, how much should players be making/expecting.

A good living is $100,000 year for a working person. What is the equivalent for a pool player? They have rooms, flights, food and many other expenses. I am thinking $200,000 year.

New tour 64 regular players 10 events per year... What is your prize money and payouts in a realistic world.

Mine: $200,000 prize money

1st: $50,000 25%
2nd: $36,000 18%
3rd: $24,000 12%
4th: $18,000 9%
5th-6th: $12,000 6%
7th-8th: $10,000 5%
9th-12th $5000 2.5%
13th-16th: $2000 1%

I think this would be a great start and a chance of making a living. Ideal would see all spots paid min $2000, but that would be really tough. With this tour and the 3-4 big events per year... someone could make 300,000-500,000 $ in a year.
 
I think that the true measure of happiness will only be found with withholdings for Social Security and Fed/ State taxes.
 
Jason Robichaud said:
How much $$ will be required before professional pool players can take pride. We have Mike and Mark talking about added money and new tours etc and I was wondering, how much should players be making/expecting.

A good living is $100,000 year for a working person. What is the equivalent for a pool player? They have rooms, flights, food and many other expenses. I am thinking $200,000 year.

New tour 64 regular players 10 events per year... What is your prize money and payouts in a realistic world.

Mine: $200,000 prize money

1st: $50,000 25%
2nd: $36,000 18%
3rd: $24,000 12%
4th: $18,000 9%
5th-6th: $12,000 6%
7th-8th: $10,000 5%
9th-12th $5000 2.5%
13th-16th: $2000 1%

I think this would be a great start and a chance of making a living. Ideal would see all spots paid min $2000, but that would be really tough. With this tour and the 3-4 big events per year... someone could make 300,000-500,000 $ in a year.
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No, no, no.

The tour should be limited to only two people. Me and a random member of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. THEN, we pay out only one spot - $200,000 of course. Loser must disrobe on site.

I mean, I think I can get Pay-Per-View interested. ESPN would probably air it live. It'd definitely be news worthy AND it would make me very happy.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
No, no, no.

The tour should be limited to only two people. Me and a random member of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. THEN, we pay out only one spot - $200,000 of course. Loser must disrobe on site.

I mean, I think I can get Pay-Per-View interested. ESPN would probably air it live. It'd definitely be news worthy AND it would make me very happy.
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I like your idea Jude. The only thing I would change though is that it would be me and a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader.
 
Black-Balled said:
I think that the true measure of happiness will only be found with withholdings for Social Security and Fed/ State taxes.
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Operate a business and pay it! or is it different in the U.S. Here in Canada someone self-employed can pay Canada Pension (Social Security)... when you turn 65 you get your pensions. This is a % of earnings up to a maximum amount per year.

I think the two other post show why there is no mens tour... The can't even answer a question or talk about a tour... Sooner post garbage. I should bad rep stupid replies.
 
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Jude Rosenstock said:
No, no, no.

The tour should be limited to only two people. Me and a random member of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. THEN, we pay out only one spot - $200,000 of course. Loser must disrobe on site.

I mean, I think I can get Pay-Per-View interested. ESPN would probably air it live. It'd definitely be news worthy AND it would make me very happy.
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Jude, no one wants to see you naked.

:D
 
I think a decent realistic monetary amount for a tourning pro would be around $75,000- $125,000. You have to keep in mind that any tour has to be sustainable and by that I mean a viable business. If you don't have sponsors that will re-up every year then you don't have a tour. If you don't have people or fans watching the tour events and supporting the tour, then soon you have no sponsors, and then you have no tour.

The recent tour endeavors tried to be too big and there was no way that the market could sustain such a tour.

If the new tour idea is realistic in its expectations then I would think the touring pros could make a decent living for many years.
 
Jason Robichaud said:
...I think the two other post show why there is no mens tour... The can't even answer a question or talk about a tour... Sooner post garbage. I should bad rep stupid replies.
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I believe you should not take things so seriously, neither pool-playing as a career, nor an individual's self-importance.
 
Black-Balled said:
I believe you should not take things so seriously, neither pool-playing as a career, nor an individual's self-importance.
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Every thread here recently seems to end up the same way. Someone post a question and someone post BS. Like someone asking a question about better fluorescent tubes for home light and someone posting "Google homedepot". The whole thing in becoming a waist of time. The site has really changed in the last few months.
 
Such a tour would require at least one or two million a year to run, at a minimum.

Not only do you have the prize funds to deal with, you also have all the varying expenses of running such a tour... salaries/expenses of the folks running the tour and working at the events, venue-related expenses, travel expenses, marketing costs, all the myriad administrative costs, etc.
 
corvette1340 said:
I think a decent realistic monetary amount for a tourning pro would be around $75,000- $125,000. You have to keep in mind that any tour has to be sustainable and by that I mean a viable business. If you don't have sponsors that will re-up every year then you don't have a tour. If you don't have people or fans watching the tour events and supporting the tour, then soon you have no sponsors, and then you have no tour.

The recent tour endeavors tried to be too big and there was no way that the market could sustain such a tour.

If the new tour idea is realistic in its expectations then I would think the touring pros could make a decent living for many years.
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The fundamental problem with professional pool is that the overwhelming majority of prize revenue is generated through entry fees. That is the inherent flaw. Pool players are feeding other pool players. Somehow, revenue needs to be generated elsewhere.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
The fundamental problem with professional pool is that the overwhelming majority of prize revenue is generated through entry fees. That is the inherent flaw. Pool players are feeding other pool players. Somehow, revenue needs to be generated elsewhere.
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I agree. The sponsor money should make up the majority of the opperating costs (ie. prize funds, etc..). The entry fees should be relatively small and cover the costs of hosting the events at various pool rooms etc. Admission fees, merchandise, and ppv streams from the events could also be viable money makers for the tour (In theory).

The big question is do the sponsors feel that they are gaining profitability by giving money to the tour. If they feel that the money they are giving for sponsorship outweighs the money they are seeing from sponsorship then they obviously won't be around very long.
 
Jason Robichaud said:
Every thread here recently seems to end up the same way. Someone post a question and someone post BS. Like someone asking a question about better fluorescent tubes for home light and someone posting "Google homedepot". The whole thing in becoming a waist of time. The site has really changed in the last few months.
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If you are gonna quote me, at least have the decency to get it right...:eek: :rolleyes:

You think my post was a joke because your panties were in a bunch over Jude and Joe wanting to play pool with a Cheerleader. Admittedly, I was curt. However, my post referred the poster to valuable resources that actually have a bit of accountability- a vested interest in a truthful reply- unlike a forum.

Anyway- no hard feelings here, hope youfeel the same...
 
Many threads are here on where to get the prize money... The question is how much do we need to find. How much should these guys be making... What is fare/reasonable income to survive and make a good living playing pool.
 
No prob Black-Balled... Just these threads are not what the use to be. Getting sick of the off topic responses. Many people here Crying about taking NPR topics to proper section and then they post NPR replies... Frustrating. I think the guy looking for a solution for his light probably searched home depot, Lowes and google. I am guessing he was asking what others used.
 
The reason pool seems to not take off here in the U.S. is because it is not popular with mainstream America. Non-pool industry sponsors, i.e., Nike, State Farm, Yum foods (?), Buick, and Merrill Lynch will not invest one penny into pool because there is no opportunity for return on their investment. Nobody watches it on TV. There is no pool exposure in mainstream America.

Pool-related sponsors invest as much as they can afford for tournaments, but to tell you the truth, I find it embarassing to see that the first-place prize at the BCA Open in years gone by has been $15,000. That's about as good as it gets for pool tournaments here in the States. This is the exact same payout amounts in the '70s, '80s, and '90s.

Until pool becomes more mainstream and accepted by U.S. culture as a sport, it will be difficult to get non-pool sponsors interested.

It's a Catch 22 with American pool at least. The players' entry fees do make up a big portion of the payout monies in tandem with pool industry sponsorship monies. The promoter has to make a profit. He ain't doing this for grins, but most independent promoters I know are happy if they can just break even.

There are many within the American pool culture who have absolutely zero respect for professional players. Reading some of the posts on this forum gives you a little insight as to how much respect the American pool culture gives professional players, "scum of the earth," "needs to get a job," "bums," "homeless without girlfriends," et cetera, et cetera.

How can pool excel if those within its own culture think of garbage collectors on a higher level than pro pool players? Therein lies one of American pool's biggest stumbling blocks. Pool is cruel to its own.

JAM
 
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corvette1340 said:
I think a decent realistic monetary amount for a tourning pro would be around $75,000- $125,000...
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I would agree with that if it is after expenses and they aren't living in the northeast or california where the cost of living is higher. If they had to take hotels, etc out of that it isn't viable.
 
catscradle said:
I would agree with that if it is after expenses and they aren't living in the northeast or california where the cost of living is higher. If they had to take hotels, etc out of that it isn't viable.
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Several years ago, it cost about 30- to $40,000 per year to attend two, three, and four tournaments a month on American soil, mainly on the East Coast.

With gas prices soaring and everything else, I am sure this amount would go up as well.

Today's payouts will not pay the bills for most pool players unles you are sponsored like Shane Van Boening and Johnny Archer. Yes, they are on top of their games and fortunate to be where they are at, but for the rest of professional players and aspiring pros, it's pretty tough out there. You must pick your tournaments wisely.

JAM
 
Some players already make $100K before they even hit a ball. I commend those players for going out & making a impact in themselves. It is that type of player that will help pool grow.

Compare it to a college student getting his degree & then sitting in his house, waiting for the job fairy to come by & give him a job. That would be a lot easier than resumes, interviews, or internships.

It appears that Mark G. has a plan to, in fact, do just this. The players will have an essential role in making a life for themselves.

When listing expenses, please don't list food. I eat every day also but can't go to my boss for a raise based on the fact that I go out to lunch.
 
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