Pickleball has grown incredibly far from its early days and has quickly become one of the most popular sports in the country, and continues to grow in popularity around the world.
As a result, pickleball is no longer just for amateurs or for people looking for a fun game (although that’s still very much available).
Nowadays, it’s possible to go even further with the sport and become a professional pickleball player.
But how much would a pro pickleball player actually make? Well, there’s no real clear answer, as it depends on tournament earnings.
However, tournament prize money can range from $30,000 to as much as $150,000.
Of course, the more tournaments you win, the more money you will earn. And there’s many more ways you could earn money from pro pickleball. So let’s examine them all.
Here’s everything you need to know about the earnings for pro pickleball! Read on for more.
Pro Pickleball Earnings: The Basics
Despite being a relatively new sport, pickleball has enough popularity and participation that it allows for people to earn money professionally from it.
On average annually, pro pickleball players can make $50,201 but this does not include money from sponsorships.
When we add the earnings from sponsorships, this figure can rise to an annual earning of $200,000! Of course though, and as we previously mentioned – there are many different factors in this.
Geography plays a role, as some states will pay more for their tournaments – and then you have to account for your own expenses you spend to enter, including your accommodation, meals and entry fee (if applicable).
How To Make Money From Pro Pickleball
We will now explore some of the main ways to earn money from pro pickleball and how much you could earn.
Tournaments
Of course, the major and primary way that you could make money from pro pickleball is as a player (see also: 10 Best Pickleball Players In The World)and entering a tournament. Across the U.S. circuit, there are 153 tournaments that you could potentially enter.
Every tournament’s prize money will be different and largely, this will depend on the association that is hosting the tournament, if it is a championship or not, and if it specifically is aimed at pro players only.
Games which are run by the PPA (Pro Pickleball Association) will see prize funds anywhere from $30,000 to $150,000.
However, with the Association Of Pickleball Professionals (APP), you could earn a total of $700,000 across their 16 hosted tournaments.
It must be stressed though that these figures are not always the same in other places, and as mentioned – there’s an awful lot of different factors at play.
For example, the USA National Pickleball Championships saw both the men and women’s champions (see also: 10 Best Pickleball Champions In The World)earn only $2,500.
The overall prize fund was $80,000 but over 2,000 participants played and the fund was shared for various reasons.
Coaching
If anyone decides to take pickleball seriously and wants to go pro, it’s incredibly important that they hire a coach.
Coaches can not only help to improve basic skills for the game, but they are keen motivators and can help with the psychological side of the sport.
Coaches can earn $10 or more per hour – and the very best coaches can of course charge a much higher figure. Typically, pickleball coaches will host classes of up to 30 players and each player will pay this fee.
So, if you’re hoping to make some money from pro pickleball – you could either hire a coach to improve your game, or even become a coach yourself!
Sponsorships
A lot of people, particularly younger people, will overlook the fact that one of the biggest money makers in any sport is a sponsor.
Sponsorships can be beneficial for both parties, but for the player – this is a huge financial boost.
Some players have even reported earning $80,000 per year just from their sponsors alone.
It likely goes without saying though, that the money you can earn from sponsorships will depend on the sponsor specifically and indeed, your own talent.
The very best sponsors who pay the most will sponsor the very best players – so be aware of this.
However, there’s nothing stopping you from seeking out your own sponsors and earning some money on the side.
Remember, sponsors are attracted to not only the best players, but the players that are involved in the most amount of tournaments, as this will provide them with maximum exposure.
So, if you are going to pitch yourself to a sponsor – be sure to tell them that you plan to enter all of the available tournaments.
Over a number of years, you can have more freedom with the sponsorship deals, such as a request for more money or even bonuses.
Media/Sales
The final way you can make money through pro pickleball is through the media or by sales.
In terms of media, the best and most free way to make money is by utilizing your own blog or YouTube channel, and then use a strategy to get advertising or affiliate earnings.
Of course, working for mainstream media is also a potential way to earn money, but it’s much more likely through your own channels. You can write blogs, record the matches or even provide commentary.
In terms of sales, you could make quality equipment or sell memorabilia. You could even become a photographer and sell excellent photographs of championship matches.
In short, there’s a whole load of ways that you can make money from pro pickleball! It just depends on how far you want to take it and your own skill set.
The Bottom Line
Pro pickleball players’ earnings will depend on a number of factors, but you don’t need to play pro pickleball to earn from it! There’s so many options out there for everyone!
Hi, I’m Michael Walter, and I am a Pickleball enthusiast. I work as a High School Physical Education Teacher, so I have an expansive knowledge of sports and its impact on physical health.
When I first took a position at my current school, one of the many things I wanted to implement in the curriculum was Pickleball.
Pickleball is a fantastic sport to keep yourself active, healthy, keep your blood pumping, and to start a good sense of competitiveness and team work.
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