Prize money in ski jumping: Four Hills Tournament lags behind

Ski jumping is one of the most spectacular and popular winter sports in the world. Top ski jumpers hurl themselves down the slopes in front of thousands of fans at the ski jumps and millions of viewers watching TV broadcasts and livestreams.

But although best jumpers in the world like Poland's Kamil Stoch or Norway's Halvor Egner Granerud are superstars in their countries, the prize money in ski jumping is relatively low compared to tennis, for example, but also to other winter sports like alpine skiing.

"We certainly can't complain, even if there are winter sports in which considerably more is paid," said German ski jumper Severin Freund in an interview with ISPO.com.

Here you can find out how much prize money is up for grabs in the Ski Jumping World Cup, and why the renowned Four Hills Tournament has long since ceased to play first fiddle in ski jumping, at least in terms of money.

Ski jumping is one of the most spectacular and popular winter sports in the world. Jumpers hurl themselves down the slopes in front of thousands of fans at the ski jumps and millions of viewers watching TV broadcasts and livestreams.

How much do professional ski jumpers make

The amount of reward for competitors in ski jumping world championships depends on the total prize pool. To calculate the award, the points earned are taken into account. For this reason, it is difficult to predict ski jumpers earnings.

In the 2021/22 World Cup season, the FIS Ski World Federation will distribute 71,800 Swiss francs (approx. 67,000 euros) per individual competition to the top 30. 100 CHF (approx. 94 euros) will be paid for each World Cup point. Thus, the winner of a World Cup jumping event will receive 10,000 CHF (approx. 9,400 euros), the runner-up 8,000 CHF (approx. 7,500 euros) and the 30th place 100 CHF (approx. 94 euros).

In addition, the winner of a qualification will collect another 3,000 CHF (approx. 2,800 euros), and in the case of a qualification in ski flying even 5,000 CHF (approx. 4,700 euros).

In the team and mixed competitions, the total prize money is 70,000 CHF (approx. 66,000 euros), which will be divided among the three best teams of four jumpers each.

The situation is different in the women's World Cup. For them, only one third of the prize money of the men is paid out in the World Cup jumping competitions. A total of CHF 25,194 (approx. 24,000 euros) is in the prize pot per contest. In contrast to the men's World Cup, only the top 20 women receive prize money. This leaves CHF 3,800 (approx. 3,600 euros) for the winner, CHF 3,040 (approx. 2,900 euros) for the runner-up and CHF 418 (approx. 392 euros) for the twentieth place.

Women do not receive prize money for victories in the qualification. In team competitions, a total of 10,000 CHF (approx. 9,400 euros) is divided among the first three teams of four jumpers each.

It is striking that the sporting highlight of the season, the traditional Four Hills Tournament, is stingy with prize money despite all the TV presence: With its approximately 17,500 euros in prize money for the tour winner - in addition to the usual World Cup bonuses for the individual jumps - it is less lucrative in terms of other major sporting events.

By way of comparison, when Sven Hannawald celebrated his historic Grand Slam victory in the Four Hills Tournament in 2001/2002, he collected a total of 330,000 euros in these four jumps alone. In addition to the prize money, there were also bonuses from the German Ski Association (DSV) back then, which no longer exist in this form today.

"It can't be that the tour pays out significantly less money than the Tour de Ski in cross-country skiing, where the overall winner gets 55,000 francs (48,000 euros)," ex-jumper Martin Schmitt is annoyed.

In the ski jumping calendar, the Tour has also been left behind, at least financially. The Raw Air Tournament has been held in Norway since 2017. For ten days, jumping and flying takes place on four hills for a total of 100,000 euros in prize money. With 60,000 euros in prize money, the overall winner receives almost four times as much as in the Four Hills Tournament. The third place finisher still gets 10,000 euros.

And there is also more to be won in the women's event in Norway: The winner will receive 35,000 euros, the second 15,000 euros and the third 5,000 euros.

What jumper earnings depend on

Jumpers can earn by taking part in competitions of different scales. The prize fund reaches several thousand francs, and this is a solid payout. Participants in competitions are completely dependent on the amount of money allocated to rewards. Women receive large sums less often, and the maximum payout hardly reaches 3,000 euros.