Olympian Explains How Much Less Freestyle Skiers Earn Than Other Athletes

Another day, another refreshingly honest glimpse into the professional skier lifestyle from Olympian Nick Goepper.

Goepper's subject of the day? Athlete prize earnings.

Here's his breakdown.

Goepper recently transitioned into halfpipe skiing after a slopestyle career.

Hence, the podiums and top-five finishes he mentions here—and the prize purse totals—presumably reference the halfpipe competitions he's appeared in this season.

That's an aside, though. The real headline here is that professional dart throwers earn more for podium and top-five finishes than professional halfpipe skiers, as do bowlers.

No disrespect to the dart throwers and bowlers out there, but that math doesn't quite add up at first glance.

Surely doing a double cork in the halfpipe is worth more than bowling a near-perfect game? The risk level for skiing is certainly higher.

But if you look at the numbers, it might make a little more sense.

An article by Fred Bowen in The Washington Post explains that athlete pay often correlates with the number of views an athlete can attract.

"One of the reasons pro athletes make so much money is that we love to watch their games," Bowen writes. "Media companies pay the leagues and teams billions of dollars for the rights to show the games on television and other video devices."

For instance, football players earn much more than ultimate frisbee players because of football's massive popularity.

Let's use Goepper's bowling example now. Bowl.com reports that 67 million people bowl on average a year in the U.S., but the National Ski Areas Association estimates that were only 11.6 million active snowsports participants last season in the U.S.

This means that there are probably more people willing to watch bowling than skiing, which leads to higher prize purses for professional bowlers.

This is a gross oversimplification of a complicated issue. Viewer numbers might not be the reason bowlers earn more via prize purses. Maybe another factor, like bowling tournaments costing less to host, is to blame.

Regardless, Goepper's competition earnings are shockingly low compared to professional athletes in other disciplines.

Related: Mammoth Reminds Skiers Of Increased Penalties For Breaking Closures

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