Lindsey Vonn Retires From Skiing — But She Still Makes Plenty of Money
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After the 2019 World Championships in Sweden, Lindsey Vonn announced that her ski career was officially coming to a close. She leaves as one of the most decorated athletes in the sport’s history, with a total of 137 World Cup medals and three Olympic medals.
Endorsement Deals
The ski champ — who had an estimated net worth of over $3 million, according to a 2013 Forbes article — has continued to amass much of her wealth through endorsements.
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In the fashion space, Vonn has been signed to Under Armour since she was 16, making her the company’s longest-serving brand ambassador. Her partnership with the brand included a 2017 six-piece collection of apparel and accessories designed for the slopes. Although the injury-plagued athlete is putting her professional ski days behind her, she’ll continue to work with the sportswear brand. Just this year, she was tapped as global ambassador for UA and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Project Rock. She even tried her hand at designing a new Under Armour collection. Winter sports performance brand Head is also among her sponsors, and she wears its boots while on the slopes.
Vonn has inked additional deals with Red Bull, Oakley, Vail Resorts and GoPro.
A post shared by L I N D S E Y • V O N N (@lindseyvonn) on Mar 21, 2019 at 9:08am PDT
Ski Competition Earnings
Skiing may not be as high-profile as basketball or soccer, but the earnings aren’t too shabby. Over the course of her career, Vonn has continuously scooped up more than $100,000 annually in prize money. Her best-earning year was 2012, when she took home $592,947 in winnings as the top-earning female skier in the world. The only year she failed to net at least $100,000 was 2014, when she was sidelined by an injury.
Work Toward Gender Equity
Vonn has worked to break down gender barriers for women in sport throughout her career. In addition to advocating for equal pay, the star said she wanted to compete with men in a 2017 request to the International Ski Federation. Speaking to FN about the letter, she said: “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, mostly because I train with men and it raises my level of skiing.”
“Women will inherently become closer to men as time goes on, and there are definitely women already who have enough skill and talent to compete with men,” Vonn added.
Retirement
Although Vonn initially planned to retire in December, she decided that the 2019 FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships in February would be her last competition. Severe injuries have followed the skier throughout her career, with seven knee surgeries needed.
“Over the past few years I have had more injuries and surgeries than I care to admit,” Vonn wrote in an emotional social media post announcing her retirement. “My body is broken beyond repair and it isn’t letting me have the final season I dreamed of. My body is screaming at me to STOP and it’s time for me to listen.”
Watch the video below to go behind the scenes at Under Armour athlete Stephen Curry’s FN cover shoot.
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