CrossFit Games

Top 10 Athlete Payouts in 2018-2019 Season

October 3, 2019 by
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The massive overhaul of the 2019 CrossFit Games season brought significantly more competition opportunities, and with it came the chance to make some extra cash in the process. Between the Open, Sanctionals, and the Games, there was more money up for grabs than ever before, and we’ve got updated payouts* and analysis for the top athletes in 2019.

  • You can access the full payout breakdown on our payout tracker.
  • *Note: Some events from 2019 have not disclosed their full prize purses, so some athlete totals could end up being higher. 

Men

  1. Mathew Fraser: $491,038
  2. Noah Ohlsen: $140,500
  3. Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson: $119,077
  4. Patrick Vellner: $77,000
  5. Scott Panchik: $66,500
  6. Travis Mayer: $57,000
  7. Cole Sager: $50,365
  8. James Newbury: $46,487
  9. Matt Mcleod: $42,155
  10. Jacob Heppner: $33,216

It pays to be a winner: For the fourth year in a row Mat Fraser is the top earner on the men’s side and the difference between him and the rest of the field is staggering. Fraser’s 2019 total is more than the next five athletes combined despite only participating in four events across the entire year. In the top 10, only Jacob Heppner participated in fewer events. 

  • Despite having the lowest finish of his career at the CrossFit Games, Patrick Vellner still cracked the top 5 thanks to a win at Wodapalooza, and a lucrative 2nd place finish at the Rogue Invitational that netted him $40,000.
  • Three athletes managed to make the top 10 despite failing to finish inside the top 10 at the Games. Travis Mayer, Cole Sager and Patrick Vellner all capitalized on strong Sanctional performances to boost their season total. 
  • It was a banner year for Australian men, with two Aussie finishing in the top 10 overall thanks in part to top 10 finishes at the Games by James Newbury and Matt McLeod. It was the first time an Australian male has cracked the top 10 at the Games since Chad Mackay in 2012, and the first time in history that two did so in the same year. 
  • Career-high payouts for Noah Ohlsen and Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson were driven by career-best finishes at the Games, with Ohlsen making his first Games podium, and BKG matching his 2015 podium finish at the Games. 

Women

  1. Tia-Clair Toomey: $414,000
  2. Kristin Holte: $144,000
  3. Jamie Greene: $123,216
  4. Samantha Briggs: $107,083
  5. Sara Sigmundsdottir: $95,500
  6. Katrin Davidsdottir: $84,527
  7. Kari Pearce: $68,038
  8. Annie Thorisdottir: $46,0008
  9. Jacqueline Dahlstrom: $41,965
  10. Amanda Barnhart: $38,155

Making history: It was a banner year for Tia-Clair Toomey and her prize money reflected it. Wins at Wodapalooza and the Rogue Invitational, and a career-best finish in the Open set the table for Toomey to become the first-ever three-time CrossFit Games champion on the women’s side, winning by a record 195 point margin. 

  • The top 10 women in 2019 outearned the top 10 on the men’s side by nearly $40,000 ($39,445 to be exact). The women had more six-figure earners as well, and seven of the top ten women out-earned their male counterparts of the same rank. 
  • Sam Briggs was the only athlete to break the $100,000 dollar mark despite finishing outside of the top 10 at the Games. The six other six-figure earners all finished on the podium at the Games in 2019, and Briggs managed the feat thanks to a $92,000 performance at the Dubai CrossFit Championship.
  • Jacqueline Dahlstrom was the only athlete from both lists that made the top 10 in earnings while earning exactly $0 in prize money from the Games. Dahlstrom finished 47th overall in Madison, but won both the Reykjavik CrossFit Championship and CrossFit French Throwdown, making her the third woman – alongside Sam Briggs and Tia-Clair Toomey – to win multiple Sanctionals.
  • Europe dominated the top 10 payout list for the women, with six women on the list in total: three “Dottirs” from Iceland, two Norwegians, and one Britt, with the remaining spots occupied by two Americans, one Aussie, and one Kiwi. 

The Games Still Rule the Bank Accounts

The Sanctionals provided significant earning potential for a variety of athletes, but the performance at the Games was still the most lucrative. The top three earners on both lists directly reflected the podium at the Games, with Noah Ohlsen, Kristin Holte, and Jamie Greene all making the podium for the first time and finishing in the top three as well. 

The top 10 men and women combined took home a shade under 2.3 million dollars in 2019, and there are 13 additional events slated for this season. Strategy will dictate how that will be reflected in the top 10 earners for next year, but in the very least there’s more money on the table for athletes than ever before. 

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