Making money as a pro

[CRiZZ76]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering, how professional snooker players are making their regular money.
I'm not talking about the top players, who can of course live off their prize money.
What about the pros who don't win tournaments every other month? (Below the top 30/40 ranks)
Is there a steady salary coming from WorldSnooker?

[Vex 147]

I was asking myself the same question lately. Is there any money in the qualifiers? Do they get and if so how much money when they qualify for some tournament. Let's say they do qualify and lose in the first round, how much do they get? Would really like to know

[throtts]

I think you only make a really good living if your a top 5 player. I not sure they get any money in alot of the pre televised stage of the qualifiers, might be wrong but you surely need to be a consistent 1/4 finalist to make a nice buck.

[ADR147]

top 32 make a good living and the money is going up.

[Siz]

I may be a bit out of touch now, but it used to be the case that only the top couple of dozen players could make a decent living out of snooker.

The point is that ultimately income comes from sponsors, sponsors pay for marketing, and marketing means TV. So a player who is not on TV fairly often is pretty irrelevant in marketing terms and cannot expect to make money.

As I said I may be a few years out of date; but I can't see how even post Barry Hearn, those commercial realities will have changed. In fact these days the travel and hotel expenses are probably much higher than they used to be, and this will hit the lower ranked players disproportionately.

Of course there is the possibility of exhibition work. But it is only the top players that can expect to make anything out of that since anyone would struggle to get a paying audience for an exhibition by someone who is not a known TV face.

And even if you do make it into the top 32 and start to make a reasonable living, the other issue is what happens after you have had your 15 minutes of fame and fallen back down the rankings again (as happens to most players). What qualifications or skills do have to offer a prospective employer? I suspect that for every ex-player that you hear about who has found themselves a nice little number in TV commentary, or running their own snooker club, there are half a dozen you don't hear about and who are scratching around for a living.

But on the other hand, you could be the next Steve Davis or Stephen Hendry

[FOXMULDER]

And at the end of the day, you're playing snooker for a living - Heaven!

I'd do it for 10 grand a year!

[thelongbomber]

Some of the top players have sponsors backing them. The sponsor gets advertising, and the player get's a partial fee each month/year. I don't have any info on the numbers, but I spoke with a sports manager some years back about this and she was able to get sponsors for some of the top players.

You really have to be a top amateur with a name to get recognized in your local region or else just know the right people in the right places (aka Rich uncle or wealthy business owner).

I guess the top pros make a living full time and the rest struggle to get form while holding a part time job somewhere. It's a tough gig to be sure. More tournaments though means more have a chance to earn a living. A million dollar grand prize for a major would be a great thing for the game as it would start to follow golf/tennis/etc.

[aussie147]

apart from tournament prize money and sponsorship and endorsements many also earn their money doing exhibitions at snooker clubs. The big names in the game request fairly large amounts for this but even tour pro's can a decent amount for the night.

[gazza147]

apart from tournament prize money and sponsorship and endorsements many also earn their money doing exhibitions at snooker clubs. The big names in the game request fairly large amounts for this but even tour pro's can a decent amount for the night.

I agree with the Above most of them Lower down the Rankings earn there money doing Exhibitions, I know Jimmy has been Bankrupt a few Times and come back just from doing Exhibitions really. I was Told awhile ago by a Couple of Professionals that Only Top 4-8 are earning real good money, And thats why a few of them have to do Exhibitions/Sponsor Deals etc.

The Big Names in Snooker like Ronnie doesnt need to do Exhibitions as he has Plenty of Money but does a few for the Buzz like Hendry used too.

Gaz.

[FOXMULDER]

More pro's make a living now than ever before. In fact, more do than don't. Jimmy Robertson, for example, down at Number 50, makes about 16,000 a year.

Not much, but you can survive on it. 10 years ago, the World Number 50 would have made a LOT less.

[cally]

Only top 4-8 making a decent living...

Errrr... Have looksy at any top 16 players 'basic' wage for a season....

The top 16 are guaranteed x amount a year (as long as they stay in the top 16 life as a snooker player is quite rosey really.)

Then it gets a bit more of a up/down wage out of the top 16, but stilla good chance to make a decent living with a couple of good results here and there..

But still a million miles away from the earnings of other sports 'top' stars for sure...

but saying only a few of the 'top' pro's make a decent living from snooker is way off the mark.

[ADR147]

as a well known player once told me when ranked 62 - if i was 62 in the world at golf or tennis i would be a millionaire!

[DandyA]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering, how professional snooker players are making their regular money.
I'm not talking about the top players, who can of course live off their prize money.
What about the pros who don't win tournaments every other month? (Below the top 30/40 ranks)
Is there a steady salary coming from WorldSnooker?

I seem to remember Stuart Bingham saying on this forum a couple of years ago that, in addition to prize money, the WPBSA did make a payment at the end of the year which depended on the pro's position on the ranking list - towards the bottom, it was around 8 to 9K, he didn't say what it was higher up the list ...

You also quite often see the tournament sponsor's logo on nearly every players shirt which I guess must mean the tournament sponsor has offered every player a deal to cover their flight and accomodation at least ... I may be wrong but I get the impression the WBPSA/WorldSnooker doesn't cover those expenses ...

To answer Vex147's question, I don't think there's generally any prize money for playing in qualifiers or first round losers ... only from the second round onwards ... although again, I'm not 100% sure ...

Plus, as others have mentioned, there's also potentially exhibitions, pro-ams, coaching, TV programmes, endorsements etc

[throtts]

A better quetion is as how a pro feels about taking out a large financial commitment, such as a mortgage. You got to bloody win then.

And how does the lendee weigh you up with a volatile income, must be hard in this day and age.

[damienlch]

A better quetion is as how a pro feels about taking out a large financial commitment, such as a mortgage. You got to bloody win then.

And how does the lendee weigh you up with a volatile income, must be hard in this day and age.

I was thinking the same... seems like it's not nearly as financially rewarding as many other sports or even some regular professions.

Must've been a big decision to turn pro for most unless the person already has financially freedom, for e.g. from a wealthy family etc. A fat bank account does wonders to your cue action, I would think!!