SALARYSPORT
★ 0
PRIZE MONEY · SIX SNOW SPORTS · 2020/21 TO 2025/26

Skiing and snowboarding prize money compared

The six World Cups on snow paid £125,033,520 across 2,310 races from 2020/21 to 2025/26. Alpine skiing paid £60,825,738 of it, 49%, and Marco Odermatt took more than anybody else on snow. Three of the six pay a women's race what they pay a men's; ski jumping pays its women 38p in the pound.

PAID £125m
RACES2,310
ATHLETES PAID2,269
ALPINE SHARE49%

What each sport paid

The six World Cups, 2020/21 to 2025/26, including their World Championships

Prize money paid by each of the six snow sports from 2020/21 to 2025/26.
SPORT RACES ATHLETES PER RACE PAID
Alpine skiing 466 513 £130,527£131k £60,825,738£60.8m
Ski jumping 322 250 £54,258£54k £17,470,950£17.5m
Cross-country skiing 342 404 £46,226£46k £15,809,320£15.8m
Freestyle skiing 565 535 £26,104£26k £14,748,619£14.7m
Snowboarding 429 432 £26,500£27k £11,368,323£11.4m
Nordic combined 186 135 £25,863£26k £4,810,570£4.8m

Prize money by sport, 2020/21 to 2025/26

Alpine skiing £61m Ski jumping £17m Cross-country skiing £16m Freestyle skiing £15m Snowboarding £11m Nordic combined £4.8m

Alpine skiing pays £130,527 a race on average, against £46,226 for a cross-country race and £25,863 in Nordic combined. Its record here reaches back to 2011/12, and across all of it the sport has paid £130,575,628; the table takes every sport over the same six winters so the six can be compared.

The 100 best-paid athletes on snow

Every sport together, by prize money from 2020/21 to 2025/26

The athletes paid the most prize money across the six snow sports.
# ATHLETE SPORT WINS PRIZE MONEY
1 Marco Odermatt Alpine skiing 56 £3,683,223£3.7m
2 Mikaela Shiffrin Alpine skiing 46 £2,879,616£2.9m
3 Lara Gut Alpine skiing 24 £1,751,608£1.8m
4 Federica Brignone Alpine skiing 24 £1,747,732£1.7m
5 Sofia Goggia Alpine skiing 22 £1,477,242£1.5m
6 Henrik Kristoffersen Alpine skiing 14 £1,367,716£1.4m
7 Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo Cross-country skiing 83 £1,363,030£1.4m
8 Vincent Kriechmayr Alpine skiing 16 £1,359,332£1.4m
9 Petra Vlhova Alpine skiing 17 £1,292,557£1.3m
10 Loic Meillard Alpine skiing 9 £1,288,435£1.3m
11 Aleksander Aamodt Kilde Alpine skiing 17 £1,224,252£1.2m
12 Lucas Braathen Alpine skiing 8 £894,592£895k
13 Stefan Kraft Ski jumping 26 £849,093£849k
14 Sara Hector Alpine skiing 7 £827,084£827k
15 Ryoyu Kobayashi Ski jumping 22 £825,368£825k
16 Manuel Feller Alpine skiing 7 £805,369£805k
17 Marco Schwarz Alpine skiing 7 £805,306£805k
18 Clement Noel Alpine skiing 9 £779,920£780k
19 Dominik Paris Alpine skiing 8 £768,613£769k
20 Cornelia Huetter Alpine skiing 8 £738,957£739k
21 Marta Bassino Alpine skiing 8 £736,643£737k
22 Atle Lie Mcgrath Alpine skiing 6 £730,106£730k
23 Alice Robinson Alpine skiing 5 £678,887£679k
24 Jessie Diggins Cross-country skiing 23 £672,184£672k
25 Anze Lanisek Ski jumping 11 £663,013£663k
26 Corinne Suter Alpine skiing 5 £652,232£652k
27 Wendy Holdener Alpine skiing 2 £649,366£649k
28 Alexis Pinturault Alpine skiing 6 £639,404£639k
29 Katharina Liensberger Alpine skiing 5 £629,019£629k
30 Timon Haugan Alpine skiing 6 £609,416£609k
31 Camille Rast Alpine skiing 5 £595,913£596k
32 Jan Hoerl Ski jumping 5 £573,458£573k
33 Franjo Von Allmen Alpine skiing 6 £569,432£569k
34 Mikael Kingsbury Freestyle skiing 42 £568,154£568k
35 Halvor Egner Granerud Ski jumping 22 £558,471£558k
36 Jarl Magnus Riiber Nordic combined 56 £558,177£558k
37 Daniel Tschofenig Ski jumping 11 £538,622£539k
38 Domen Prevc Ski jumping 19 £538,237£538k
39 Emma Aicher Alpine skiing 5 £525,561£526k
40 Linus Strasser Alpine skiing 4 £508,922£509k
41 Jonna Sundling Cross-country skiing 18 £506,991£507k
42 Frida Karlsson Cross-country skiing 16 £501,477£501k
43 Lena Duerr Alpine skiing 1 £495,065£495k
44 Karl Geiger Ski jumping 9 £488,175£488k
45 Harald Oestberg Amundsen Cross-country skiing 12 £482,908£483k
46 Andreas Wellinger Ski jumping 6 £474,524£475k
47 Michelle Gisin Alpine skiing 1 £472,976£473k
48 Paula Moltzan Alpine skiing 0 £467,063£467k
49 Ebba Andersson Cross-country skiing 12 £459,885£460k
50 Johannes Lamparter Nordic combined 24 £459,374£459k
51 Sandra Naeslund Freestyle skiing 37 £455,937£456k
52 Marius Lindvik Ski jumping 8 £443,387£443k
53 Beat Feuz Alpine skiing 3 £442,280£442k
54 Kajsa Vickhoff Lie Alpine skiing 1 £436,289£436k
55 Ragnhild Mowinckel Alpine skiing 3 £430,071£430k
56 Raphael Haaser Alpine skiing 1 £426,326£426k
57 James Crawford Alpine skiing 2 £424,241£424k
58 Filip Zubcic Alpine skiing 2 £423,221£423k
59 Heidi Weng Cross-country skiing 3 £410,865£411k
60 Ester Ledecka Alpine skiing 3 £403,172£403k
61 Zrinka Ljutic Alpine skiing 3 £401,910£402k
62 Matthias Mayer Alpine skiing 2 £395,922£396k
63 Elena Curtoni Alpine skiing 3 £395,522£396k
64 Reece Howden Freestyle skiing 23 £385,689£386k
65 Ikuma Horishima Freestyle skiing 19 £383,542£384k
66 Johann Andre Forfang Ski jumping 3 £380,843£381k
67 Cyprien Sarrazin Alpine skiing 4 £374,248£374k
68 Therese Johaug Cross-country skiing 19 £373,520£374k
69 Julia Scheib Alpine skiing 5 £369,027£369k
70 Jakara Anthony Freestyle skiing 25 £368,273£368k
71 Charlotte Bankes Snowboarding 26 £353,026£353k
72 Nika Prevc Ski jumping 42 £351,365£351k
73 Daniel Yule Alpine skiing 3 £350,143£350k
74 Perrine Laffont Freestyle skiing 20 £344,552£345k
75 Ramona Theresia Hofmeister Snowboarding 19 £341,174£341k
76 Timi Zajc Ski jumping 5 £339,541£340k
77 Fanny Smith Freestyle skiing 14 £338,529£339k
78 Laura Pirovano Alpine skiing 3 £338,078£338k
79 Stephanie Venier Alpine skiing 3 £336,012£336k
80 Piotr Zyla Ski jumping 2 £333,818£334k
81 Kira Weidle Alpine skiing 0 £332,711£333k
82 Simen Hegstad Krueger Cross-country skiing 10 £332,017£332k
83 Jaelin Kauf Freestyle skiing 12 £325,057£325k
84 Paal Golberg Cross-country skiing 7 £324,622£325k
85 Linn Svahn Cross-country skiing 14 £320,146£320k
86 Dawid Kubacki Ski jumping 7 £318,982£319k
87 Stefan Rogentin Alpine skiing 1 £314,849£315k
88 Erik Valnes Cross-country skiing 6 £313,695£314k
89 Kerttu Niskanen Cross-country skiing 6 £312,960£313k
90 Tessa Worley Alpine skiing 3 £309,038£309k
91 Breezy Johnson Alpine skiing 1 £307,924£308k
92 Martin Loewstroem Nyenget Cross-country skiing 7 £306,043£306k
93 Manuel Fettner Ski jumping 0 £305,597£306k
94 Jens Luraas Oftebro Nordic combined 11 £304,325£304k
95 Valerie Grenier Alpine skiing 3 £301,797£302k
96 Anna Swenn-Larsson Alpine skiing 2 £299,505£300k
97 Ilka Stuhec Alpine skiing 2 £294,634£295k
98 Vinzenz Geiger Nordic combined 16 £294,492£294k
99 Mirjam Puchner Alpine skiing 0 £292,734£293k
100 Pius Paschke Ski jumping 6 £291,197£291k

The fifteen best-paid

Marco Odermatt £3.7m Mikaela Shiffrin £2.9m Lara Gut £1.8m Federica Brignone £1.7m Sofia Goggia £1.5m Henrik Kristoffersen £1.4m Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo £1.4m Vincent Kriechmayr £1.4m Petra Vlhova £1.3m Loic Meillard £1.3m Aleksander Aamodt Kilde £1.2m Lucas Braathen £895k Stefan Kraft £849k Sara Hector £827k Ryoyu Kobayashi £825k

Twelve of the fifteen are alpine skiers. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo is the best-paid athlete in any other sport, with 83 wins to Marco Odermatt's 56 and 37% of the prize money: a cross-country win paid a median £13,800, an alpine win £43,240.

Season by season

What each sport paid in each winter

Prize money paid by each snow sport in each season from 2020/21 to 2025/26.
SPORT 2020/212021/222022/232023/242024/252025/26
Alpine skiing £8,873,666£8.9m £8,797,920£8.8m £11,182,088£11.2m £10,341,408£10.3m £10,810,860£10.8m £10,819,797£10.8m
Ski jumping £1,792,537£1.8m £2,289,959£2.3m £3,195,491£3.2m £3,322,041£3.3m £3,308,658£3.3m £3,562,264£3.6m
Cross-country skiing £1,313,760£1.3m £1,643,120£1.6m £3,197,920£3.2m £3,308,320£3.3m £3,420,560£3.4m £2,925,640£2.9m
Freestyle skiing £1,586,816£1.6m £1,859,964£1.9m £2,428,800£2.4m £2,856,600£2.9m £3,473,002£3.5m £2,543,437£2.5m
Snowboarding £1,248,565£1.2m £1,369,033£1.4m £1,922,800£1.9m £2,001,000£2.0m £2,612,804£2.6m £2,214,122£2.2m
Nordic combined £472,972£473k £638,066£638k £891,901£892k £928,933£929k £988,696£989k £890,001£890k
All six £15,288,317£15.3m £16,598,061£16.6m £22,819,001£22.8m £22,758,302£22.8m £24,614,579£24.6m £22,955,261£23.0m

All six sports, by season

2024/25 paid the most, £24,614,579. 2020/21 paid £15,288,317, and cross-country skiing paid less than half what it paid two winters later.

Men against women

What an individual race paid each field, on average, from 2020/21 to 2025/26

Average prize money per individual race for men and for women in each snow sport.
SPORT MEN WOMEN WOMEN PER £1 MEN'S WINNER WOMEN'S WINNER
Alpine skiing £136,487£136k £124,516£125k 91p £43,240 £43,240
Ski jumping £75,288£75k £28,586£29k 38p £11,960 £3,956
Cross-country skiing £46,226£46k £46,226£46k 100p £13,800 £13,800
Freestyle skiing £26,126£26k £26,081£26k 100p £12,420 £12,420
Snowboarding £26,535£27k £26,464£26k 100p £12,420 £12,420
Nordic combined £32,035£32k £14,641£15k 46p £8,096 £4,140

What a women's race pays for every £1 a men's race pays

Cross-country skiing 100p Freestyle skiing 100p Snowboarding 100p Alpine skiing 91p Nordic combined 46p Ski jumping 38p

Cross-country pays the two fields exactly alike: 171 men's races and 171 women's, each paying £46,226 on average. In freestyle skiing and snowboarding the two averages differ by £45 and £70 a race, and the middle winner's cheque is £12,420 for both fields.

Alpine skiing pays the same winner's cheque, £43,240 in the middle for both, and the gap comes from the top of the calendar. The richest men's race, Kitzbuehel downhill, men, January 2022, paid £343,068. The richest women's race, Killington slalom, women, November 2023, paid £163,300.

Ski jumping and Nordic combined run separate, smaller ladders for their women. A men's ski jumping competition paid £75,288 on average and a women's £28,586; in Nordic combined it was £32,035 against £14,641.

The gap in ski jumping and Nordic combined

Ski jumping and Nordic combined, per individual race, season by season

Average prize money per race for men and women in ski jumping and Nordic combined, by season.
SEASON JUMPING MEN JUMPING WOMEN NORDIC MEN NORDIC WOMEN
2020/21 £66,052£66k £22,626£23k £26,740£27k £9,200£9k
2021/22 £66,056£66k £23,178£23k £27,119£27k £11,960£12k
2022/23 £72,680£73k £25,870£26k £31,133£31k £13,156£13k
2023/24 £79,142£79k £29,598£30k £33,983£34k £14,352£14k
2024/25 £79,212£79k £32,811£33k £33,983£34k £17,190£17k
2025/26 £85,684£86k £32,650£33k £39,576£40k £15,514£16k

Ski jumping: what a women's competition pays for every £1 a men's pays

A women's ski jumping competition paid 34p in the pound in 2020/21 and 38p in 2025/26. Nordic combined moved from 34p to 39p. Both fields' pay rose over the six winters, so the women's side has gained in pounds as well as in proportion.

At the World Championships

The two sports that pay their fields apart, with both on the same hill in the same week

Prize money per event for men and women at the ski jumping and Nordic combined World Championships.
CHAMPIONSHIPS MEN WOMEN WOMEN PER £1
Ski jumping, Oberstdorf 2020/21 £66,056£66k £19,038£19k 29p
Ski jumping, Planica 2022/23 £72,680£73k £25,870£26k 36p
Ski jumping, Trondheim 2024/25 £79,212£79k £79,212£79k 100p
Nordic combined, Oberstdorf 2020/21 £30,498£30k £9,200£9k 30p
Nordic combined, Planica 2022/23 £33,396£33k £13,156£13k 39p
Nordic combined, Trondheim 2024/25 £36,598£37k £36,598£37k 100p

At the 2024/25 World Championships in Trondheim both sports paid a women's event exactly what they paid a men's. Two years earlier in Planica the women were paid 36p and 39p in the pound. The World Cup has not followed: a women's World Cup competition in ski jumping still pays 38p in the pound.

The biggest single cheque in each sport

One athlete, one race, 2020/21 to 2025/26

The largest prize money paid to one athlete for one race in each snow sport.
SPORT ATHLETE RACE PAID
Alpine skiing Beat Feuz Kitzbuehel downhill, men, January 2022 £101,200£101k
Ski jumping Domen Prevc Trondheim World Championships large hill, men, March 2025 £31,685£32k
Cross-country skiing Therese Johaug Tour de Ski overall standings, women, January 2025 £78,200£78k
Freestyle skiing Tess Ledeux Beijing big air, women, December 2024 £15,525£16k
Snowboarding Mia Brookes Beijing big air, women, December 2024 £15,525£16k
Nordic combined Jens Luraas Oftebro Seefeld gundersen normal hill/12.5km, men, February 2026 £19,658£20k

Frequently asked questions

Which snow sport pays the most prize money?

Alpine skiing, by a distance. It paid £60,825,738 of the £125,033,520 the six World Cups paid from 2020/21 to 2025/26, which is 49% of it. Ski jumping is next on £17,470,950, and Nordic combined pays the least on £4,810,570.

Who has won the most prize money in snow sports?

Marco Odermatt, with £3,683,223 in alpine skiing from 2020/21 to 2025/26. Mikaela Shiffrin is second on £2,879,616. The highest outside alpine skiing is Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo on £1,363,030.

Are men and women paid the same prize money in skiing?

In cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing and snowboarding, yes: a women's race pays what a men's race pays. Alpine women's races pay 91p for every £1 a men's race pays, because the richest men's race paid £343,068 against £163,300 for the richest women's. Ski jumping pays its women 38p in the pound and Nordic combined 46p.

How much does a World Cup winner get?

The middle winner's cheque from 2020/21 to 2025/26 was £43,240 in alpine skiing for men and women alike, and £13,800 in cross-country. In ski jumping it was £11,960 for the men and £3,956 for the women.

Which season paid the most prize money on snow?

2024/25, when the six World Cups paid £24,614,579 between them. 2020/21 paid £15,288,317.

Where to next

Each sport keeps its own list, with every venue, season, athlete and country: alpine skiing prize money, ski jumping prize money, cross-country skiing prize money, freestyle skiing prize money, snowboarding prize money, Nordic combined prize money. Each also sets its men's and women's fields side by side, year by year: alpine skiing, ski jumping, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, Nordic combined. Every place in sport where the women's side is paid more is on where women earn more prize money than men, every country's winnings on prize money by nation, and the richest competitions in every sport on prize money in sport.