Which sport has the most prize money? Cricket World champs will get less than others

The ICC T20 Men’s cricket World Cup is in its last stages. On June 29th, the winning team’s captain will hold aloft the glittering trophy and he and his players will be awarded the prize money for the winners which amount to USD 2.45 million. This is the highest sum that the tournament has offered its winners till now. The runner up team will receive 1.28 million and various other teams will receive their share of the total prize money which is USD 11.25 millions.

But where does this amount stand when compared to winners in other sports? A quick glance at the prize money offered for different big sports events will reveal mind boggling figures. Tennis, boxing, golf are among the sports where the maximum amount of prize money is up for grabs. Moreover, in these individual sports, the winners take it all because there is no team involved.

Look at Tennis prizes

In tennis, the US Open carried total prize money of USD 65 million and the singles winners among the men and women received 3 million each. The French Open in 2024 had USD 58.25 million with winners in the men’s singles and women’s singles receiving 2.6 million each.

The prize money at the Wimbledon tennis championships has been growing steadily. This year it has increased by 14 percent over last year. It now stands at 2.7 million pounds sterling for the men’s winner and an equal amount for the women’s singles winner. So the singles winners at these Grand slam tennis tournaments take home more money than the entire cricket team that will win the ICC T20 World Cup.

Golfers make even more

Top golfers make even more. In 2022 the winner of the prestigious FedEx Cup received USD 18 million out of the total pool of USD 75 million. Football players earn huge amounts even though they play a team game. Because individual players sign up for massive contracts. A few years ago Cristiano Ronaldo became the first footballer to cross USD one billion in lifetime earrings from different sources.

Boxing is one of the most lucrative sports right now. World championships title bouts generate revenue of hundreds of millions of dollars and the winner as well as the loser gets handsome rewards. Boxers are among the richest sportsmen in the world. The top five boxers of the world have a combined net worth of USD 1.4 Billion.

Perhaps the richest is Floyd Mayweather who is said to have earned more than USD 400 million during the course of his boxing career. George Foreman who was one of Muhammad Ali’s arch rivals made USD 300 million through boxing and advertisements. The 6-feet-9 inches tall heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury’s personal net worth is estimated to be about USD 85 million.

So cricketers may be extremely rich by Indian standards but when compared to the world’s top sportsmen they are not so well paid. When their earnings are juxtaposed with other stars of international sport, the income of cricketers seems modest.

However, the Indian cricket team commands the love and respect of 1.4 billion Indians. If they can bring home the ICC T20 World Cup, the emotions that will be generated throughout India would be more valuable than any amount of money. As the former US President F D Roosevelt once said: “Money may buy you a comfortable life. But ecstasy comes only from achieving great victories.”