Professional Cycling - Lance makes 16 millions a year

Prime time on OLN, besides his salary of few hundreds thousand dollars, he make additional 16 mils from advertising, endorsement.

Don't you think he is the highest-paid cyclist in the world?

He deserves every penny of it too.

It's not a lot by standards of other professional sports figures. I mean, I read that Michelle Kwan, the figure skater made about that much too, and that's figure skating! Tiger Woods made 22 million his first year pro, and he just hits a ball for 2- 3 days! Tennis players typically make that much from their sponsor, and that doesn't count the commercials and other advertisements they agree to do. I am not even raising an eyebrow over 16 million. That's typical for professional sports folks. They sell bikes and products and whatever else they wear, drink, eat, etc.

Didn't LeBron James get something like 40 million bucks from Nike? And that pip squeak barely graduated high school!

:eek:

Koffee

Michael Schumauker(sp) makes 150mil a year last I heard

It's not a lot by standards of other professional sports figures. I mean, I read that Michelle Kwan, the figure skater made about that much too, and that's figure skating! Tiger Woods made 22 million his first year pro, and he just hits a ball for 2- 3 days! Tennis players typically make that much from their sponsor, and that doesn't count the commercials and other advertisements they agree to do. I am not even raising an eyebrow over 16 million. That's typical for professional sports folks. They sell bikes and products and whatever else they wear, drink, eat, etc.

Didn't LeBron James get something like 40 million bucks from Nike? And that pip squeak barely graduated high school!

:eek:

Koffee



Lebron got 90 million from Nike..... 90 Million dollars, and it doesnt matter whether he wins or loses, all he has to do is wear their clothes/shoes. Crazy!

Michael Schumauker(sp) makes 150mil a year last I heard

Schumacher's last contract was for $150 million over 3 years. Still that makes him the highest paid athlete in the world....

all that money tends to corrup the athetes. we see more and more of the problems it causes. once you mix a lot of money into something it get ruined.

He deserves every penny of it too.

Agreed. In terms of value, he far surpasses any other athlete from any other sport. He is cheap labor in terms of what he provides. A cancer survivor who comes back from near death to set what will probably be an unbeatable record, and in the meantime sets up charities and brings attention and money to worthy causes. Aside from the "leaving his wife and kids" thing (I don't know the details), he is quite possibly the best role model the sports world can provide. His salary is probably a drop in the bucket compared to how much cash his name generates for his sponsors and charities.

That being said, he seems to have a pretty rock'n'roll lifestyle. His crib from the Lance Chronicles is pretty spectacular. I wonder if has a joing checking account with Cheryl?

16 million IMO is not alot most of that is from advertising not from Postal thats for sure. I think to be fair he should be paid more for his days work but I think alot of cyclists should be paid more than they are.

why? who needs 16 million? look how he is starting to act. money tends to really ruin people power and fame do too. just look what it is doing to the NBA and baseball.

why? who needs 16 million? look how he is starting to act. money tends to really ruin people power and fame do too. just look what it is doing to the NBA and baseball.

He does seem kinda cocky talking about his 16th century Armoire bought from the country of origin of his teammates, and his original Van Goghs...

Other than that, I don't think he is acting badly. What is he doing?

why? who needs 16 million? look how he is starting to act. money tends to really ruin people power and fame do too. just look what it is doing to the NBA and baseball.

That is a pretty biased, huge generalization.

He works harder for that money than any other pro athlete who makes 10 times that. Like Schumacher.

NBA players/salaries make me sick. I don't mind Armstrong's income one bit. He deserves more.

He does seem kinda cocky talking about his 16th century Armoire bought from the country of origin of his teammates, and his original Van Goghs...

Other than that, I don't think he is acting badly. What is he doing?

I don't mind this. My father is an artist and I grew up around art. If Lance appreciates what he can buy (and not just view it as an investment) then I wish him all the best. He gives the impression that he actually loves his art collection. Must be great to be able to afford it.

You know who really earn the big bucks? Golfers! All that walking and swinging clubs - that's easily worth what Tiger gets paid yearly.

And baseball players - A Rod deserves 23M a year for all that time he sits on a bench.

But seriously, I wonder how Hincapie feels about Tiger getting paid what he does and never having to break a sweat while Georgie busts his ass day in and day out.

You know who really earn the big bucks? Golfers! All that walking and swinging clubs - that's easily worth what Tiger gets paid yearly.

And baseball players - A Rod deserves 23M a year for all that time he sits on a bench.

But seriously, I wonder how Hincapie feels about Tiger getting paid what he does and never having to break a sweat while Georgie busts his ass day in and day out.

Ah! The power of mass-marketing and TV audiences. The funny thing is, every weekend warrior golfer out there is convinced that with the right equipment and just a "little more time" (s)he too could be like Tiger. And they back this belief up by spending millions and millions each year. The golf audience is huge compared to the cycling audience and they spend way more. On the other hand, I know that Tyler's bike in my hands won't make me any faster ... or will it? Maybe if they ran a commercial telling me it would ... who knows? :D

You guys missed my point, my question is that is he the highest paid cyclist, I wasn't comparing him with basketball, baseball or auto-racing. Why put all of the numbers here, we all well know how much others make in other sports. I don't think Ullrich, or other racer in TDF makes as half as what Lance makes right now. I could be wrong, but 16 mils is huge for a cyclist.

They didn't mention the books, so if 16 mils exclude the books, which he's written 4 or 5 in the past years, his income is even more.

Yes, Lance is the highest paid cyclist, by far.

You guys missed my point, my question is that is he the highest paid cyclist, I wasn't comparing him with basketball, baseball or auto-racing. Why put all of the numbers here, we all well know how much others make in other sports. I don't think Ullrich, or other racer in TDF makes as half as what Lance makes right now. I could be wrong, but 16 mils is huge for a cyclist.

They didn't mention the books, so if 16 mils exclude the books, which he's written 4 or 5 in the past years, his income is even more.

If I remember correctly, LeMond was the first cyclist to be paid 1 million. No idea what Fignon, Hinault, Merckx etc made, but based upon their abilities vs salaries, I'd say Lance is over paid. What he is worth as a marketing tool, who knows.

why? who needs 16 million? look how he is starting to act. money tends to really ruin people power and fame do too. just look what it is doing to the NBA and baseball.


no one needs 16 million. however, business is business. if an individual can bring x millions of dollars in revenue to a company, then he is worth some portion of that. no matter how large the figures are.

Interestingly enough, the big wage earners you are discussing all have one thing in common; doing something they love to do, trying to be the best they can at it, setting goals, and having the focus and discipline to achieve those goals. Thus, their careers have been successful because they have developed the ability to know what their strengths and weaknesses are (in their given discipline and in life in general), they understand the importance of setting goals, sometimes in spite of incredible adversity.

The money is merely a by-product; the quid, if you will, in the quid-pro-quo that exists in life. As for how much compensation or net worth anyone "needs", what does need have to do with it? Personal wealth is not a zero sum game. That Lance earns $16m (or $19m according to Forbes) does not mean that someone else is denied access to that same $16m. As for how much he earns, nobody is giving away that money. Every dollar he earns provides a return on investment for a sponsor, and handsome ones at that.

Bottom Line: It's called capitalism and it rewards those who aspire to do great things and who can develop the skills, knowledge, and relationships necessary to achieve their aspirations. The weathiest people in the world, managing money becomes yet another area to excel in and net worth is merely the score card they use to measure progress against their peers. The neat thing is, anyone living in this or most other free-market economies are free to pursue their own fortunes in the same way: fortune is relative.

He does seem kinda cocky talking about his 16th century Armoire bought from the country of origin of his teammates, and his original Van Goghs...

Cocky or just a guy talking about his "stuff?" If someone decided to do a TV show about you and the producer asked you to give the audience a tour of your home what would you show them and what would you say about it? Remember, it's your "stuff", i.e., the things you are surrounded by every day when you are at home.

Schumacher's last contract was for $150 million over 3 years. Still that makes him the highest paid athlete in the world....

Did you call a race car DRIVER an athlete??

Did you call a race car DRIVER an athlete??

If you think that an F1 driver is not an athlete, it is obvious that you know nothing about F1.

You're right, I know nothing about F1.
But I do know that driving my car doesn't exactly work my CV system :) .





If you think that an F1 driver is not an athlete, it is obvious that you know nothing about F1.

You're right, I know nothing about F1.
But I do know that driving my car doesn't exactly work my CV system :) .

Maybe not your car, but driving an F1 car WILL throw huge stress on your cardiovascular system.

Well I do admit that trying to find an empty pump at QT during lunch rush puts a huge stress on my system. But then I cancel out the benefits of driving with a $.99 hotdog.


Maybe not your car, but driving an F1 car WILL throw huge stress on your cardiovascular system.

Did you call a race car DRIVER an athlete??

I know nothing about F1 either, but I think auto racing like F1, nascar, motorbike etc. is a lot harder than it looks. Imagine you have to sit in a tiny little seat for hours, under the sun, no air conditioner, probably no or very little of water, and always drive at 100+ mph, which will result a death easily if you don't concertrate well enough. It's no fun sitting there for sure. That's why Schumacher won so many because he has special, unique skill, just like any other athletics do.

But it's even better to hear explaination from someone who really knows about the sport :).

Whoa, this is OT, but they get 5G braking forces, say 10 times a lap, for 70 laps or so. That's pretty extreme, and also requires some serious neck strength. Those guys are generally in good shape, but not bike racer shape. That's different.

And back on topic. What kind of endorsements do you think Ullrich gets? He just published a book, too. How about the most popular Italian racers? They are much more popular in their home countries than racers in the US, compared to other sports.

I was thinking the same thing. I think a lot of the big name riders get their share of the cash cow too- we don't see it because we're in the States, but if you went overseas, they're probably living the good life and getting the endorsements too.

For instance, I seriously think that Nike could never take over the sponsorship of US Postal once USPS pulls out at the end of the season. They have too much vested interests in other riders and teams, and for them to pull back all that money out of those other riders and teams would be ridiculous. They're definitely backing other riders there.

Koffee

It's not a lot by standards of other professional sports figures. I mean, I read that Michelle Kwan, the figure skater made about that much too, and that's figure skating! Tiger Woods made 22 million his first year pro, and he just hits a ball for 2- 3 days! Tennis players typically make that much from their sponsor, and that doesn't count the commercials and other advertisements they agree to do. I am not even raising an eyebrow over 16 million. That's typical for professional sports folks. They sell bikes and products and whatever else they wear, drink, eat, etc.

Didn't LeBron James get something like 40 million bucks from Nike? And that pip squeak barely graduated high school!

Koffee

first of all, someone graduates FROM high school! a measuring cup is graduated.

second of all, tennis stars do not make as much as you think. outside of andre agassi, i don't see any other tennis players topping armstrong on Forbes' list of the higest-paid athletes. and the list is factoring in endorsement dollars.

http://www.forbes.com/2004/06/23/04athletesland_print.html

Ok, something's up with that list. I know Serena Williams signed a huge deal with Nike at the end of last year. It was worth something like 60 million dollars. I know her sister, Venus has a deal with Reebok for 40 million. Serena signed that deal with Nike at the end of last year. I remember because I was like "damn!" when the news report came out. I was also glad, because she's been wearing the same, tired outfits from Puma, and they were just not working for her.

If anything, I'll always remember the fashion.... if not the exact money amount, I will always remember the fashion...

Koffee

you know being in america, and living in the middle of no where is hard to get good cycling news. espn does like a 10 second flash about the tour then spents about half an hour on baseball. i have a friend that has satelite, and all next week i will be at his house for the mountains. i know eddy mades bicycles, lemond does as welll, ullrich has a bike shop somewhere. i don't think cylcist are trying to get rich by cycling. i think it after they get off the bikes they think about how do i make a living or pay for Van Goat paintings. the winner of the tour share his prize money with he team. tradition. i would like to see guys like george and floyd get some sponsor because they work they butts off the keep lance pretty.

The question is for how many years is the $60M for?



Did you call a race car DRIVER an athlete??

Hell yes, those guys are in amazing shape these days. Some of the guys in CART (one of the top open wheel racing series) do tri's in the off-season, olympic/half IM distance events and they'll place in the top 10 (top 5 most of the time).

Even from the little bit of karting I've done, after about 15-20 minutes the heart rate is running quite elevated and the body starts to feel the effects of going around in circles.

Andrew

Dmd, you'd think that, but watching the Lance Chronicles as Lance flies in his private jet with his... lady friend, then spends time talking about his original paintings and photographs, talks about his house and all it's trappings, including the roof for his patio he pretty much seemed to lean on the mayor of the town to allow him to build, watching him toast champaigne on his private jet, etc, leads me to believe that there's definitely a whole lotta tryin to get rich going on with at least SOME of the riders. Nothing wrong with trying to get rich- I'm trying to get rich myself. If you've got the money, more power to you. There are probably riders that just really want to be successful and want the wins for the recognition, and there are some riders that want the accolades AND the money, and there are probably some riders that just want the money too. Everyone has their view of what motivates them to win, and I'm sure money is one of those reasons.

I would bet the farm if Lance didn't share his winnings, he'd be beat down like a dog on the streets.... it's a nice, noble, and great thing to do for your squad, and sure, he doesn't have to do it, but I think the unwritten code is to share the earnings, just like there's the unwritten code to not attack if the leader has fallen, or not to attack if everyone stops for a bathroom break.

Koffee

The question is for how many years is the $60M for?




Hell yes, those guys are in amazing shape these days. Some of the guys in CART (one of the top open wheel racing series) do tri's in the off-season, olympic/half IM distance events and they'll place in the top 10 (top 5 most of the time).

Even from the little bit of karting I've done, after about 15-20 minutes the heart rate is running quite elevated and the body starts to feel the effects of going around in circles.

Andrew

The contract wasn't specific.... up to 5 years, depending on how well she does. I do know Nike said that even if Serena never lifts a tennis racket, she'll walk away with 10 mil a year. So she's banking much bling bling, I believe.

Koffee

FYI, the Jet is not really Lances, He does have a Marquis Card through Netjets, which allows him to use a jet like a timeshare property. I think its for a Citation 10

http://www.netjets.com/aboutnj/pricing/mqus_pricing.asp

You can get 25 hours any time you wanna use them for 109K on a Citation 5

Nike owns several jets, and keeps them in a sparkling white floored hanger that is bigger and cleaner than most hospitals. lol (I've got photos) It could have been a Nike Jet, or it could have been charterd on one of the fractional ownership contracts owned by several Hollywood or Music Industy Studios.

Fractional Ownership is a lot more common than you would think, as once you buy the 40 million dollar Gulfstream, you need a crew, maintenence, fuel, hangerspace etc.....

Or you can buy a quarter share for 10million, 10K a month for the contract, and 4K an hour operating costs, its a hell of a lot cheaper. Plus they promise you a plane that can take you anywhere in the world on a 2 hour notice.

If 10 million is too steep, you can get a quarter or eighth share of a Hawker 800 for 3 million or 1.5 million respectivley.

But the ultimate Bling Jet is the BBJ or the Boeing Business Jet, It's a custom converted 737 airliner!


My Girlfriend used to work for them, and got to meet Warren Buffet.

Koffee, you think lance bought that stuff with what he earned in the last 5 tour wins and tour of georgia? i think nike pays he to wear nike shoe and socks. trek pays to ride their bike and uses his name on a bike. subaru pays him to do goffy commerials..............he put 6 hours a day on the bike, and who know how much time thinking about the bike. i think he deserves his pot of gold. i don't get ONL in my house so i have to go to a friends house so i didn't get to see lance chronicles.

on the attack the leader. i think it a respect deal. a few years ago ullrich went off the mountain. lance was wearing the yellow. he didn't have to sit up, but out of respect of ullrich i think lance did what he did. few stages later ullrich won a stage, and put one hand back to lance out of respect. last year when bokesa (spaniard) went down nobody stop. every one was chasing t-moble dude. so i don't think it a rule.

in your group ride in town here, when someone flats or goes down every one stops out of respect.

Dmd, I totally understand he got that money from endorsements- I have been debating with people about the endorsements plus their earnings from doing the actual work, not just from doing the work alone. And as I said before, there's nothing wrong with getting some bling for the work you put in. But if it wasn't about the money, he'd just race and turn down the endorsements. After all, Lance said himself that the obligations he has with sponsors sometimes encroach on his training time, which is why he doesn't do as many commercials by April, unless the sponsors come to him with a concept that he just can't pass up.

I also don't think it's a rule you that the riders have to stop. I said it's an UNWRITTEN rule- meaning it's an etiquette thing and a respect thing. I remember the pat on the back with Ullrich and Armstrong- I still have that picture, and that particular race was awesome. I also remember a few days ago when Mayo went down and the front of the peloton took off, and Mayo lost major time, and most likely, the ability to win as a result of being trapped in the peloton of the second group of riders that finished farther back in time than the first group.

Smoothie, I am totally aware that Lance doesn't own that plane. I should have made that clearer, but I do know that the majority of rich folks don't own their own jets unless they are billionaires or mega millionaires, and by mega millionaires, I mean 9 digit yearly incomes. The cost of maintaining the plane, plus fuel charges, a crew, food, etc. means it's a lot cheaper to charter a plane and fly out or just go first class on a commercial airline. Even Ah-nold, governor of CA sold his private jet a few years back due to the ridiculous amounts of money he said it took to maintain the jet. Anyone that reads a John Grisham book knows this! I saw "The Client" on television with Susan Sarandon! ;)

Koffee

AH-nold is a netjets owner too.

It's not how much you make that's important, it's how much you keep.

Just a general observation, don't get too focused on the numbers that are thrown around regarding "highest paid" lists and the like. What someone reports as earnings can be vastly different from their "net worth". Many big-paycheck and endorsement deal recipients have pissed-away their principal whereas others have built on it.

With regard to Lance Armstrong, he is more likely worth far more than what his reported earnings tally up to. Lance has some very close and savvy business associates, friends, and mentors -- many of whom have been close to him since his days as a Tri-Geek. In addition to making some pretty interesting real estate acquisitions and building his little art collection, one of his purported hobbies is managing his investment portfolio. More than once it has been intimated that he could easily move into a career as a fund manager after cycling. Then again, he could continue to diversify his marketability and experience in cycling, in much the same was as Greg Norman. Greg Norman, who earned $48m in '01 and who is "down" to $16m in '03, has a disclosed personal net worth in excess of $300m. Moreover, Norman has created his own multinational, multimillion-dollar corporation: Great White Shark Enterprises: http://www.shark.com/gwse/index.php

It's all about combining talent, discipline, focus and goals... and a little bit of luck.

It's not how much you make that's important, it's how much you keep.



This is the correct answer. Ask Mike Tyson how much he's gone through ... over $300 million :eek:

I would say that Lance is both the highest paid ( his Postal contract) and the highest earning cyclist in the pro peleton. Ullrich would most likely be second on that list. Forbes just released there top paid atheletes (total earnings) and Tiger was first at something like 80.3 mil and Michael Schumacher was second at 80 mil.

And to those that don't thing driving an F1 car isn't an athletic activity I can tell you first hand your dead wrong. I've race Formula Fords and Formula Continentals since the early 80's. You try putting on a full face helmet, nomex underwear, gloves and three layer nomex suit. Sit in garage when it's about 90 degrees and get your heart rate up to 150-165 for twenty minutes and tell my how you feel afterwords. Now in an F1 car they do it for 1.5-2 hours with amazing g-loads. It may not look like hard work but believe me it is!

It's not how much you make that's important, it's how much you keep.

Just a general observation, don't get too focused on the numbers that are thrown around regarding "highest paid" lists and the like. What someone reports as earnings can be vastly different from their "net worth". Many big-paycheck and endorsement deal recipients have pissed-away their principal whereas others have built on it.

With regard to Lance Armstrong, he is more likely worth far more than what his reported earnings tally up to. Lance has some very close and savvy business associates, friends, and mentors -- many of whom have been close to him since his days as a Tri-Geek. In addition to making some pretty interesting real estate acquisitions and building his little art collection, one of his purported hobbies is managing his investment portfolio. More than once it has been intimated that he could easily move into a career as a fund manager after cycling. Then again, he could continue to diversify his marketability and experience in cycling, in much the same was as Greg Norman. Greg Norman, who earned $48m in '01 and who is "down" to $16m in '03, has a disclosed personal net worth in excess of $300m. Moreover, Norman has created his own multinational, multimillion-dollar corporation: Great White Shark Enterprises: http://www.shark.com/gwse/index.php

It's all about combining talent, discipline, focus and goals... and a little bit of luck.

Very true. I have artwork myself because I wanted to have something to liquidate in an instant, and I know how the rich folks work. It's about investing your money wisely and having the money stored in the assets. You look at his homes and the artwork on the walls, and the trophies and the other things he has in his homes and you know he's invested. Actually, I would not trust Lance as a fund manager- I truly think that requires a bit more savvy than what he has, and I believe that although Lance is smart with his money, it's the business managers and people around him that help him with investing his money more than it is Lance just coming up with the creative and cutting edge ways to invest. If I ever do start a charity though, I'll look to his direction first! :D

Some people have incredibly good business managers. This year, I finally bit the bullet and got an agressive business manager who got me with a very good fund manager. I don't even have to think about my money anymore. I just put everything in their hands and get my reports and read them through and go "yipee!" and pump my fists everytime I see some positive movement. :D

Koffee