How Much Money Can Professional Pickleball Players Make?

Pro pickleball players may earn significant paychecks, though the exact amount is still unknown. The sport is at a nascent stage of professionalization and players lack more established avenues to make money from tournaments, sponsorships, prizes, and endorsements. Despite these challenges, some pros have managed to make lucrative pickleball careers for themselves.

Understand What the Professional Pickleball Association Offers.

The Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) is the governing body of pro pickleball and provides a platform for players to compete with each other. The PPA’s goal is to help professional pickleball players make money, develop sponsors, and gain notoriety by organizing tournaments and increasing exposure of the game. Through their events and rankings system, they have helped some pros create viable earning potential from playing pickleball.

Understand How Professional Pickleball Tournaments Work.

Professional pickleball tournaments are structured in a series of pools, or divisions, which players progress through until they reach the finals. Each tournament offers prize money based on how far a player advances in each pool. The more you advance, the larger the rewards. Understanding how these tournaments work and staying up to date with where the best opportunities for prize money lie is critical for any pro pickleball players wanting to increase their earning potential.

How much do top pickleball pros make?

One thing to keep in mind is that pickleball is still a relatively new sport, so there aren't as many big tournaments or sponsorships as there are in more established sports like tennis or golf. This means that the prize money at pickleball tournaments is generally not as high as it is in other sports.

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That being said, some of the top players in the world are able to make a decent amount of money through tournament winnings and sponsorships. According to the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), the top male and female players in the world can make upwards of $50,000 per year through prize money alone.

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Social media, sponsorships, and media appearances can boost this number substantially.   

How much does the average pickleball player make?

But again, it's important to note that these are the top players in the world. Most professional pickleball players don't make anywhere near that amount of money. In fact, many professional pickleball players have to work a full-time job in addition to competing in tournaments.

These players are good, but they are effectively just serious hobbyists hoping to grow it into a career.  As pickleball expands and their skills improve, maybe they can break into the top tier and make it a full time career. 

Tournament Prize Money Rising?  

Most professional players must rely on income from outside tournament play because the prize pools for tournament victories remain low.

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But prize pools have been trending up year over year.  In 2019, for example, the total prize money pool for the 2019 USA Pickleball National Championships was $80k. But the champions in the men's and women’s singles categories got only $2.5k as their winnings. The national circuit only had 10 events with prize pools over $20k.  

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In 2022 though, that year's Nationals total prize purse for pro divisions was $150,000!  The national circuit grew tremendously, with 32 events in total and a total prize pool of $1.7 million.

U.S. Open Tennis Championships vs U.S. Open Pickleball

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A total pickleball prize pool of $150,000 is certainly nothing to scoff at. Whereas, how does that total prize purse stack up against the US Open Tennis Championships?

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So glad you asked! Each singles winner at the 2019 U.S. Open Tennis Championships took home $3,850,000, while each doubles winner took home $740,000. The total purse at the tournament was over $57.0 million (per team). Earnings for the winning pair in the Mixed Doubles Championship were $160,000. (per team).

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While this may seem like a lot for a game of pickleball, it's worth noting that the total prize purse for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships was $100,000 in 1968, just 52 years ago.

Explore Potential Corporate Sponsorships for Professional Players.

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Professional pickleball players can make extra money by exploring potential corporate sponsorships. With the rise in popularity of the sport, many companies are now jumping on board as sponsors, offering endorsement deals and support to professional players. It’s important that professional pickleball players remain open minded when it comes to sponsorship opportunities and not limit their options. Find out what brands are associated with pickleball and talk to those companies about possible sponsorships to get more money.

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Selkirk Sport, the industry standard in paddles and other accessories for the sport of Pickleball, increased the incentive pool for its players and competition by more than 50% from 2018 to 2019, bringing the total to $300,000.

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New paddle companies mean more money. For example, when Joola first appeared on the scene in 2022, they took over Franklin's sponsorship of pro Ben John.

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If you’re a pro and looking for gear sponsorships some of the top companies are Onix, Gamma Pickleball, Joola, Paddletek, proxr, electrum, oneshot, vulcan, gearbox, niupipo, and engage.

Pursue Other Opportunities in the Pickleball Industry Such as Broadcasting and Media Appearances.

Pro pickleball players don’t just have to chase prize money from tournaments. They can also explore job opportunities outside of their playing responsibilities in the media and communications sector. Working closely with digital streaming services and other media platforms, pickleball pros can lend their expert knowledge, skillsets and storytelling abilities to help grow the profile of the sport as a whole. Furthermore, working with broadcasters in order to make sure that international events are filmed and broadcasted on TV can result in an increase in viewership and can provide additional income for professional players.

Social Media

Using social media can be a powerful tool for increasing your pickleball profits. By building a strong online presence and engaging with your followers, you can expand your reach and attract new sponsors and supporters. It's also a great way to keep your fans up-to-date on your latest matches and achievements, which can help generate excitement and interest in your pickleball career. Additionally, you can use social media to promote any merchandise or products you may have, such as pickleball gear or instructional materials. With a little bit of effort and creativity, social media can be a valuable asset in helping you make more money in the 

world of pickleball.

Coaching

Coaching is an important career path for those who are not at the top of the pickleball pyramid. If you want to combine playing and coaching as a career, you can obtain certification from an organization such as Pickleball Coaching International.

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The following is a rough estimate of a coach's salary, with the understanding that it will vary greatly depending on the coach's location.

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A beginner pickleball player should budget $10 per hour for group lessons that include teaching 10 to 30 students. Expenses such as court time and equipment rentals will eat into this budget, but a significant portion of it can be used to pay the coach's salary.

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Private coaching, which may result in more frequent lessons for coaches at a higher rate, and specialized or advanced pickleball instruction are both more expensive.

Pickleball Coaching Online

This fits with the times we live in, when professional pickleball players go online and set up blogs or YouTube channels to teach new players or even intermediate players.

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We know of pickleball coaches who give away free coaching tips in their written and video content and make money from ads and selling other people's products.

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Take the example of Barrett Kincheloe, who is well-known in the world of teaching and coaching pickleball. He makes all of his money from his blog and YouTube channel and does not have to work for anyone else. A lot of the content he posts on both of these sites is free, but he also offers paid pickleball coaching to those who are interested.

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Even though we don't know exactly how much Kincheloe makes from his pickleball coaching business, we do know that it is his full-time job and makes him at least $30,000 per year (as a rough guesstimate).

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Find common pain points that your students have and you can create a  course to solve it for them.   

These methods will help you diversify your income on your path to becoming a full time pickleball pro.   

Conclusion

In conclusion,the answer to the question of how much pickleball players can make is that it really depends. Some professional athletes may see huge paychecks, while others may only see a fraction of that. However, no matter the amount, pickleball provides a great opportunity for athletes to follow their dreams and make money doing something they love. Professional organizations such as the US Pickleball Association are also helping to increase the popularity of the sport, which could potentially lead to more opportunities for athletes to make money.

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