Kirani James prize money
Kirani James has been paid $310,250 by the Diamond League, which ranks 40th of the 3,683 athletes the series has paid. It came from 36 paid finishes in the men's 400 m, 17 of them wins.
The Diamond League pays by finishing place and nothing else. A published card sets what first through eighth is worth, the same figure in every discipline at that meeting, and ninth pays nothing.
Every payment
Where he finished, and what the card paid for it
The 36 paid figures add up because none of them contains another: a place is paid once, at that meeting, so $310,250 is 36 separate amounts rather than a running total. It is 0.3% of the $113,397,000 the 224 meetings on this site paid out between them.
Season by season
2011 to 2025, in the order it was won
| SEASON | STARTS | WINS | BIGGEST | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2 | 2 | London Grand Prix | $20,000 |
| 2012 | 2 | 1 | Athletissima | $16,000 |
| 2013 | 5 | 3 | Golden Grand Prix | $42,000 |
| 2014 | 2 | 2 | Athletissima | $20,000 |
| 2015 | 4 | 2 | Shanghai Golden Grand Prix | $32,000 |
| 2016 | 1 | 1 | British Athletics Grand Prix | $10,000 |
| 2017 | - | - | - | - |
| 2018 | 1 | - | Müller Anniversary Games | $4,000 |
| 2019 | - | - | - | - |
| 2020 | - | - | - | - |
| 2021 | 4 | 1 | Weltklasse Zürich | $30,000 |
| 2022 | 5 | 3 | Weltklasse Zürich | $62,000 |
| 2023 | 2 | 2 | Prefontaine Classic | $40,000 |
| 2024 | 4 | - | AG Memorial Van Damme | $25,250 |
| 2025 | 4 | - | Xiamen Diamond League | $9,000 |
season running total
2022 is the biggest of them, $62,000 from five starts. No Diamond League meeting paid Kirani James in 2017, 2019 and 2020, so those columns stand at nothing. The dimmer column behind each season is the running total, which reaches $310,250.
Around Kirani James on the money list
Ranks 20 to 60
| # | ATHLETE | DISCIPLINE | WINS | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Dina Asher-Smith | two disciplines | 10 | $401,500 |
| 21 | Katerina Stefanidi | Women's pole vault | 15 | $394,500 |
| 22 | Valarie Sion | Women's discus throw | 20 | $389,000 |
| 23 | Soufiane El Bakkali | four disciplines | 22 | $388,500 |
| 24 | Yaroslava Mahuchikh | Women's high jump | 21 | $382,250 |
| 25 | Alison dos Santos | three disciplines | 22 | $380,500 |
| 26 | Elaine Thompson-Herah | two disciplines | 21 | $380,500 |
| 27 | Ivana Španović | two disciplines | 18 | $373,000 |
| 28 | Tom Walsh | Men's shot put | 13 | $372,000 |
| 29 | Pedro Pichardo | Men's triple jump | 17 | $370,500 |
| 30 | Barbora Špotáková | Women's javelin throw | 19 | $365,500 |
| 31 | Valerie Adams | Women's shot put | 30 | $361,500 |
| 32 | Daniel Ståhl | Men's discus throw | 13 | $355,750 |
| 33 | Jakob Ingebrigtsen | four disciplines | 19 | $348,000 |
| 34 | Chase Jackson | Women's shot put | 18 | $347,500 |
| 35 | Blessing Okagbare | three disciplines | 11 | $338,250 |
| 36 | Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce | two disciplines | 21 | $335,000 |
| 37 | Emmanuel Wanyonyi | two disciplines | 15 | $321,500 |
| 38 | Julien Alfred | two disciplines | 13 | $316,000 |
| 39 | Piotr Małachowski | Men's discus throw | 18 | $312,500 |
| 40 | Kirani James | Men's 400 m | 17 | $310,250 |
| 41 | Ryan Crouser | Men's shot put | 15 | $310,000 |
| 42 | Gong Lijiao | Women's shot put | 13 | $309,000 |
| 43 | Yaime Pérez | Women's discus throw | 8 | $307,500 |
| 44 | Conseslus Kipruto | two disciplines | 15 | $305,500 |
| 45 | Caster Semenya | three disciplines | 20 | $304,000 |
| 46 | Asbel Kiprop | four disciplines | 19 | $302,500 |
| 47 | Hellen Obiri | five disciplines | 13 | $301,000 |
| 48 | Sandi Morris | Women's pole vault | 12 | $300,500 |
| 49 | Kaliese Carter | two disciplines | 21 | $297,500 |
| 50 | Beatrice Chepkoech | three disciplines | 11 | $297,000 |
| 51 | Salwa Eid Naser | two disciplines | 13 | $296,500 |
| 52 | Katie Moon | Women's pole vault | 11 | $292,875 |
| 53 | Orlando Ortega | Men's 110 m hurdles | 11 | $287,500 |
| 54 | Kenny Bednarek | two disciplines | 13 | $286,500 |
| 55 | Allyson Felix | three disciplines | 19 | $283,250 |
| 56 | Jakub Vadlejch | Men's javelin throw | 9 | $281,750 |
| 57 | Shanieka Ricketts | Women's triple jump | 8 | $281,250 |
| 58 | Fred Kerley | three disciplines | 11 | $280,250 |
| 59 | Zuzana Hejnová | Women's 400 m hurdles | 16 | $272,000 |
| 60 | Dafne Schippers | two disciplines | 11 | $271,000 |
A slice of the same list the Diamond League hub ranks in full. Kirani James is 40th of the 3,683 athletes the 224 meetings on this site paid, on $310,250.
Who else was in the money
The rest of the eight, at the meetings that paid Kirani James most
Prefontaine Classic 2023 paid $30,000 for 1st in the 400 m, one of seven in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Quincy Hall, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, Rusheen McDonald, Leungo Scotch and Gilles Biron.
Weltklasse Zürich 2022 paid $30,000 for 1st in the 400 m, one of seven in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Bryce Deadmon, Vernon Norwood, Zakithi Nene, Ricky Petrucciani, Isaac Makwala and Liemarvin Bonevacia.
AG Memorial Van Damme 2024 paid $12,000 for 2nd in the 400 m, one of eight in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Muzala Samukonga, Vernon Norwood, Bayapo Ndori, Jonathan Sacoor, Collen Kebinatshipi and Matthew Hudson-Smith.
Frequently asked questions
How much Diamond League prize money has Kirani James won?
$310,250, which ranks 40th of the 3,683 athletes the series has paid across the 224 meetings on this site. It came from 36 paid finishes between 2011 and 2025.
What is Kirani James's biggest Diamond League payday?
$30,000, for finishing 1st in the 400 m at the 2023 Prefontaine Classic. That is a final, which is why it is the biggest: the final pays two to five times what the same place is worth at a series meeting.
How does the Diamond League decide what Kirani James gets paid?
Entirely by where he finishes. The series publishes one rate card a season and applies it to every discipline at every meeting, so a win is worth the same in the men's 400 m as it is in the shot put on the same afternoon. Eight places are paid and ninth pays nothing. There is no bonus for a record and no share of a gate.
How many Diamond League meetings has Kirani James won?
17 of 36, worth $210,000 between them. Four of his appearances came at a final, which paid $84,000.
Is this everything Kirani James earns from athletics?
No. This is the Diamond League, which is one series of 224 meetings. It holds no championship prize money, no national federation payment, no appearance fee and no sponsorship. What it does hold is every dollar the series itself paid him, priced off the card it published.
Where to next
The rest of the Diamond League money
Diamond League prize money ranks all 3,683 athletes across the $113,397,000 the 224 meetings on this site paid out. One place above Kirani James is Piotr Małachowski on $312,500, and one below Ryan Crouser on $310,000. Kirani James is one of 6 Grenada athletes athletics has paid, and Grenada athletics prize money adds them up to $634,250 across all six competitions. For the event itself, see men's 400 m prize money. The series has paid out in 21 men's disciplines and Kirani James has been paid in one of them. The biggest of the rest are men's 100 m, men's pole vault and men's 800 m. Every meeting he has raced is linked in the table at the top of this page, and Xiamen Diamond League has its own page across every edition of it.