Questions About PGA Tour Living

[Goowa]

. Subtract 20% for taxes, subtract another 10-20% for management fees and all expenses. Take home at least half a mil free and clear?

20% taxes on $600K per year!!!!! I need a new accountant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did like the rest of your post, I just think you're pretty low on that tax rate.

[kafka01]

As somebody mentioned before, the tour has a travel agent on place that takes care of players business. And as it works in the corporate world it will work just like that on the PGA Tour - if you generate a lot of business, you get a lot better rates on hotels/airfare/rental cars than your average joe - that reduces travel costs, but still makes up a big chunk of their expenses.

[MiniMoe]

Lets say that it cost around $150,000 per year to travel and play the PGA Tour. If you stay on the top 125 you are making close to a million per year on winnings. That is a pretty good return on investment. On top of that, you might have a few sponsors paying you to play their clubs, or wear their clothes, or drive their car. If you stay on the top 125 for more than 5 years, I don't think you have a problem spending $150K to make almost a cool MIL.

[Nike Markiie]

Lets say that it cost around $150,000 per year to travel and play the PGA Tour. If you stay on the top 125 you are making close to a million per year on winnings. That is a pretty good return on investment. On top of that, you might have a few sponsors paying you to play their clubs, or wear their clothes, or drive their car. If you stay on the top 125 for more than 5 years, I don't think you have a problem spending $150K to make almost a cool MIL.

Sounds right on here but lets just say your avg joe PGA player (if you can call them that) makes 400k a year and spends about 100-150 k in traveling. That is still 250-300k a year.....to play golf. Not a bad gig at all.

[Bigtank]

# 150 on 2009 money list was Spencer Levin and he made appox $475k, then you throw in as a bottom end player he makes another 250-300k in endorsements.
[minus] - Roughly 42% in taxes and thats roughly 425k left.
[minus] - 150k in travel expenses thats 275k left.
[minus] - We pay our Agent 10% of gross, and that leaves you with 200k.
[minus] - Now we come to our caddie, he probably makes a salary, plus percentage and bonuses. Well say another 100k.....
I'm left with 100k, while is a great "salary" to play golf for a living, that is a lot of stress and milage and hotel time for a measly 100k

I'm not saying take up a collection for these guys, #148 is Miguel A. Jimenez, and that man speeds around in his $5000 Hugo Boss suits and 300K Ferrari!!!

[pittpanther]

# 150 on 2009 money list was Spencer Levin and he made appox $475k, then you throw in as a bottom end player he makes another 250-300k in endorsements...

Do you not realize that something is wrong with your calculations/estimates?

If the #148 guy is sporting Hugo Boss and Ferrari, I guarantee you he is taking home MUCH more than 100K. Your numbers, and the reality of how these PGA guys live (not just the top 20), just don't jibe. Where are you getting 42% in taxes? The USA top tax bracket is 35%, plus most of these guys live in Florida, so no state income tax. Plus they're married filing jointly, plus kids, plus mortgage, blah , blah... in an earlier posting I lowballed at 20%, but reality is more like 30%, but definitely not 42%. I also doubt that a guy who knows he's going to make less than half a million, would spend $150K on travel. That kind of money means Netjets, the Four Seasons, and a driver at every stop. I don't think #150 on the tour would choose to spend that kind of dough. And that caddy is not going to earn 100K from a guy who grosses 600K. Make it 10% (60K). And I think you're way low on endorsements. You're basically saying that only the top 50 guys on tour really earn any money. I don't think that's true.

[microcrayfish]

# 150 on 2009 money list was Spencer Levin and he made appox $475k, then you throw in as a bottom end player he makes another 250-300k in endorsements.

Mr Jimenez also plays most of his golf on the European Tour where he has 16 wins, tied for 13th all time. He also won the Dubai Desert Classic ealier this year netting him about 600,000 euros. I think you'll find a lot of the guys who are lower down on the PGA Tour money list play a lot more of their golf on other tours so there are even more potential income streams for them and their PGA Tour money can be decieving.

[Bigtank]

First off, 42% yes is worse case, however some of that unoffical money is taxed at luxury tax rates (which is over 42%), and I understand there are some very creative accountants out there. and the 150k a year is the official PGA estimate to play, eat, travel and sleep for one year, and is required in order to play. I understand that it can be done for less and budget motels. Also don't forget you are factoring in everything at least double, because you are factoring in your caddy's expenses too. Then you factor in family travel and such.

Caddy's generally make between $1500 and $2500 (for the average guys) a week gauranteed, then they also receive between 7% and 10% of the tournamnet earnings depending on where they finish, and many of the more stable guys make a pinch of the endorsements as well.

And yes #148 (M.A. Jimenez) only made 475k on the PGA tour, he did finish in the top 25 on the European Tour with 1.1mil Euros...so that was more of a joke that trying to prove a point.

The point that was lost is that these guys are not bank rolling just b/c they are on the tour, it takes alot of work and good bit of luck to get to the top of the game.

In my earlier post I said that alot of these guys have done real well for themselves, my college roomate loves every minute of playing the tour and would do nothing else.

[bshack]

Alot of guys who are not in the top 100 on the pga tour play events over seas once in a while and hit up the Canadian tour or the nationwide tour a handful of times. When they play in lower events they take home money almost always as its easier to make the cut....

Fact remains, those on the nationwide tour have a pretty average to good living ...if you play one year on the pga tour and dont piss away all your money your living pretty good.

[Easy]

Couldn't you claim some of your tax on travel expenses and so forth? That's wack if you're paying 42% tax yet still have to fork out money on travel expenses and accommodation.

[crayputter]

Just some info to add to all this :

I live in Asia. When Rory McIlroy was invited to play in one of the European PGA co-sanctioned event here, he was paid a whopping USD350K just to appear and play golf ! His flights (nothing less than business class, mind you ), accommodations ( 5 star hotels ), limo's, transfers, food, sightseeing, entertainment was ALL taken care by the sponsors of the event ! Good ol Rory just came, played, got paid a crapload of $$$ and left.

And these tour players get invited to AT LEAST 3 to 4 tournaments here in Asia every year...


Ray

[Bigtank]

Yes, the top and most popular players are getting invited overseas. But the average tour player's phone is not ringing for those opportunities.

It takes more than one year on tour to be set! One year for Phil (30-40 million) yes, for many of those others not so much.