Badminton Earnings Smash

Roger Federer, Tom Brady, Cristiano Ronaldo, Serena Williams, Lee Chong Wei. All at the pointy end of their sporting games, leaders of the pack. Hordes of fans and earning massive money in their respective sports. Umm, wait, hold on a second there. Lee Chong …who? Lee Chong Wei, of course. Just one of dozens of Badminton players including Lin Dan and Chen Long who are cashing in big time. Cashing in on a sport which is still largely foreign to many parts of the world. Badminton earnings can be huge!

It is easy to have a bit of a chuckle when you hear the name “badminton”. Many people, including myself, are quick to think of this as a game which you might play in the yard as a child. While this is true, just like football or baseball, the game the professionals are playing is a well honed craft. It is no child’s play. Badminton is a serious sport with serious money.

Badminton is yet another one of those scenarios where unless you are following the scene closely you would have no idea of the sheer scale. The scale, and the money, that is being thrown around. They’re unlikely to ever be faces you see on a billboard in Times Square. They aren’t going to featured in Sports Center Plays of the Day. But within their world they are heroes with fans numbering in the millions.

Badminton Earnings Smash – Take Me To Lands Far Away

The key reason why the money on offer in badminton comes as a shock is that badminton just isn’t a popular spot in the United States. Badminton is often named as the second most played sport in the world, with an estimated 220 million players globally. The participation level of badminton is only edged out by soccer (the real football *puts on flame suit*). FIFA estimates that there are over 250 million lovers of their balls. For a small bribe the officials at FIFA may be able to change these results to suit your situation. Read our story on the riches of the FIFA World Cup.

We will need to jump aboard our airplane and fly to Asia to visit the powerhouse of badminton, China. The Chinese dominate badminton, as of 2017 taking home 167 of the almost 400 medals on offer in the history of the World Badminton Championships. China is where you will also find those who are taking home the biggest payloads, which will take a look at in depth shortly. Rounding out our power-players from Asia are Indonesia, South Korea and to a lesser extend Japan and Thailand.

Another hub of badminton can be found if we head in the direction of Europe. Denmark and the United Kingdom continue to turn up to the badminton world stage to fight to the death against the asian competitors. Fighting for the glory of a world championship medal. We could make a joke here that with the world championship gold medal will come worldwide fanfare, but if you are based in one of these key badminton countries this is sort of true. It actually is a big deal.

Badminton Earnings Smash – Highest Paying Badminton Tournaments

The BWF (Badminton World Federation) host a number of tournaments throughout the year. The BWF Super Series consists of the following competition as of the 2017 season:

• BWF All England Open – 2018 prize pool of $1,000,000
• BWF Australia Open – 2018 prize pool of $150,000
• BWF China Open – 2018 prize pool of $1,000,000
• BWF Denmark Open – 2018 prize pool of $700,000
• BWF French Open – 2018 prize pool of $750,000
• BWF Hong Kong Open – 2018 prize pool of $350,000
• BWF India Open – 2018 prize pool of $350,000
• BWF Indonesia Open – 2018 prize pool of $1,250,000
• BWF Japan Open – 2018 prize pool of $700,000
• BWF Korea Open – 2018 prize pool of $600,000
• BWF Malaysia Open – 2018 prize pool of $750,000
• BWF Singapore Open – 2018 prize pool of $350,000

A million bucks or more for a badminton tournament, not a bad prize pool at all. The four tournaments paying out the million or more are known as “Premier” events within the BWF Super Series. However, things aren’t so lucrative in all of the BWF Tournament calendar events. The BWF Croatian International is paying out $500. Not all events are created equal.

At the end of the BWF Super Series of tournaments the top players based on points move on to the BWF Super Series Finals, which is usually held in Dubai. The 2018 BWF World Tour Finals are expected to have a minimum total prize pool of $1,500,000.

As is the case for many different financial markets, especially when it comes to sport, the prize money at times can look almost insignificant. Insignificant in comparison to the external partnerships that the athlete can make with big brands.

Badminton Earnings Smash – Who And How Much Money?

What everyone really wants to know is how are the richest badminton players. So let’s quench your thirst for money and dig right into the badminton rich list. Or if you are still hungry for more you could check out our story on the world of competitive eating.

Prize money figures for badminton aren’t as widely publicised as those for more “mainstream” sports such as tennis, where multiple sources seem to be able to agree on a career prize money figure per athlete. With badminton instead what you get is a variety of sources who can never agree on a number. We will take the following numbers with a grain of salt and instead provide an earnings range.

• Lee Chong Wei: The best badminton player in the eyes of many, the King of Badminton (a title I just gave him, I hope that he likes it). Born in Malaysia in 1982 he has been smashing the badminton scene since the mid 2000’s. With a record of 705-134 at the time of writing this 150lb monster of badminton is the most successful Malaysian olympian in history, basically making him a national treasure. Lee Chong Wei’s career earnings are estimated to be $5-30 million. Throw in a few sponsorship deals on top of the prize money, because that is where the players make the real money, and you could double his earnings from badminton. Unfortunately for Lee Chong Wei he was never able to take home a gold medal in the Olympics, instead bringing home a silver on three occasions.

• Lin Dan: Lin Dan is the reason why Lee Chong Wei didn’t take home a gold medal at two of the three Olympics, with victories in the men’s competition in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. Lin Dan’s career earnings are estimated to be $3-15 million. His handsome good looks see adorning fans flock towards him and his social media profiles, with followers numbering over 10 million. To the sadness of many of his female fans he is married, to Chinese female badminton star Xie Xingfang. These follower numbers, and his good looks, provides him with serious marketing power, marketing power that he has converted into sponsorships providing him earnings in the tens of millions and allowing him to drive sports cars and live a celebrity lifestyle. Lin Dan is a drawcard for competitions, however he does have a temper though, punching his own coach in 2008 during a training session gone bad …in front of the media.

• Chen Long: Chen Long is the current Olympic gold medal holder in Badminton, taking home the top prize from the 2016 Olympic Games held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Our friend Lee Chong Wei once again was the lucky recipient of the silver medal. Chen Long’s career earnings are estimated to be $2-10 million.
• Peter Gade: Now retired, Peter Gade joined the badminton world championship in the 1990s and dominated in the lead-up to the turn of the century, becoming the International Badminton Federation’s world player of the year in 1998. Peter Gade’s career earnings are estimated to be $2-10 million.

Badminton Earnings Smash – Future of Badminton

So where to from here for badminton? It’s unlikely to rival the NFL, NBA or World Series Baseball in the USA, but as the world becomes ever-connected with technology and immigration sees national borders become less relevant. Sports with cult followings including badminton will continue to spread across the globe.

Coverage on traditional media becomes less important as a barrier of entry. If you want to watch badminton tournament footage all you need to do is jump on Google and search. Just don’t call it shuttlecock.

Badminton, it’s huge. And if you didn’t know, now you know!

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