Scott Dixon, Lydia Ko, Erin Routliffe and Chris Wood. Photos / Photosport. Montage / Paul Slater
Scott Dixon, Lydia Ko, Erin Routliffe and Chris Wood. Photos / Photosport. Montage / Paul Slater
For the second year, the Herald examines the earnings of New Zealand’s top 10 highest-paid sportspeople. These athletes share several traits: they have all excelled in their respective fields, they primarily compete on international stages, and – interestingly – none of them are rugby players.
However, transparency in earningsvaries significantly among these top earners. While the financial details of basketball star Steven Adams’ contract are publicly accessible and the prize money for New Zealand’s leading golfers is well-documented, other sports’ earnings remain less clear. Best endeavours have been made to source all publically available information to ensure accuracy.
The criteria
Active Kiwi sportspeople only; no coaches, management or administrators are included
Earnings measured is the amount the athlete is paid for their sporting activity
No marketing, sponsorship or other sources of revenue are included
Another impressive season for Kiwi-Canadian doubles tennis player Erin Routliffe. While she’s still waiting to back up her 2023 US Open Grand Slam win, she clocked three doubles titles in this calendar year including winning the WTA Finals in Riyadh. The 29-year-old with her partner Gaby Dabrowski also reached a career-high doubles ranking at world No 1. The pair are set to play in Auckland’s ASB Classic in January.
2023 ranking:Unranked
9. Trent Boult
Estimated 2024 earnings: $2,507,210
Trent Boult is likely earning more than this figure given this has just been pulled from his recent Indian Premier League contract from the Mumbai Indians. Boult was the most expensive of the Kiwis sold for the 2025 season, with Mumbai pulling out 125m rupees ($2.537m) for the quick bowler.
The reason he’s likely earned more this year is because of the US Major League Cricket competition, but the details of his contract with MI New York are unclear, however Cricinfo reports the top players in MLC earn around US$175,000 ($296,000) for a minimum of five games. Still, the paycheque from Mumbai is a tad higher than he earned from the Rajasthan Royals in the past two years: $1.608m.
According to Front Office Sports, Scott Dixon earns US$707,000 ($1.199m) but combining that with the US$835,000 ($1.416m) he won for finishing third at this year’s Indy500 takes his earnings for the year just over compatriot Scott McLaughlin.
2023 ranking: 10
7. Ryan Fox
Estimated 2024 earnings: $3,114,308.48
It’s been a tough time for Ryan Fox after two very lucrative years in which he made $11m. Over that period, he had three DP World Tour wins, five runners-up placings, two thirds and three top-10 finishes.
Ryan Fox on the 15th tee at Royal Troon Golf Club during the final round for The Open Championship in July. Photo / Photosport
On the DP Tour, Fox brought home $6m and $5.4m in 2022 and 2023 respectively, but has just $735,574 in prize money this year (plus $1.845m on the PGA Tour). That’s not to say he didn’t do well in 2024, earning US$1.378m ($2.338m) on the PGA Tour and US$431,375.63 ($775,729.85) on the European Tour.
He hasn’t had any place finishes on either tour this year but finished in the top 10 three times on the PGA this year.
Steven Alker took out this year’s Charles Schwab Cup money list with US$2.447m ($4.151m) but that doesn’t include the million-dollar bonus he received for winning it. Alker won the cup for the second time in the past three years after finishing second behind Bernhard Langer at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship earlier this month.
2023 ranking: 6
5. Joseph Parker
Estimated 2024 earnings: $5,376,700
Who knows with boxing, but according to The Sun, Joseph Parker was estimated to be earning up to £2.5m ($5.376m) for his fight with Zhileli Zhang, which he won. Despite suffering a broken nose and two knockdowns in the third and eighth rounds, Parker regained poise and increasingly picked off Zhang at relative ease to leave the Chinese boxer out on his feet.
That came after he made a reported $10m from his fight with Deontay Wilder in December 2023.
2023 ranking: 5
Joseph Parker is believed to have made $5.376m for his fight with Zhileli Zhang. Photo / Photosport
4. Danny Lee
Estimated 2024 earnings: $5,193,083
According to Golf Monthly, Danny Lee earned US$3.061m ($5.193m) from LIV Golf this year for 34th overall in terms of earnings – Jon Rahm was No 1 overall with US$16.754m ($28.438m) and also received a bonus payout of US$18m ($30.552m). Lee finished 38th overall in the LIV standings, down several spots from the year prior where he finished 29th.
Lydia Ko tees off from the third hole during the final round of the CME Group Tour Championship 2024. Photo / Getty Images
Earlier this week, she finished third at the LPGA Tour’s season-ending tournament, the Tour Championship in Florida. The placing took her official prizemoney for the year to US$3.201m ($5.420m). Ko also finished third on the CME Globe, the season-long points competition, for a boost of US$550,000 ($931,337).
She will defend her Grant Thornton Invitational teams tournament title with Australian Jason Day next month.
2023 ranking: 8
2. Chris Wood
Estimated 2024 earnings: $8,946,828.80
Salary estimates for New Zealand’s best footballer, Chris Wood, vary but the figure appears to be about £4.160m ($8.946m). The Nottingham Forest striker has been enjoying a golden run this season, scoring nine goals to be third on Premier League’s goal-scoring ladder.
Wood recently sat down with the Herald’s Michael Burgess to talk about the beginning of his renaissance across an eventful 2023-24 season.
2023 ranking: 2
1. Steven Adams
Estimated 2024 earnings: $21,370,482
Steven Adams holds on to the mantle as New Zealand’s highest-paid sportsperson for another year. According to Basketball Reference, the “Big Kiwi” or “Aquaman”, as he is known among NBA circles, signed a two-year US$25.200m ($42.773m) contract extension with the Memphis Grizzlies on October 1, 2022. In the final year of the deal, he is earning US$12.6m ($21.37m).
It’s unclear whether he’ll hang on to the title next year though. In February, Adams was traded by Memphis to the Houston Rockets for Victor Oladipo and three second-round picks across the 2024 and 2025 drafts. As of December 3, Adams had only played in 10 matches for Houston for an average of 2.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
2023 ranking: 1
NBA star Steven Adams is New Zealand's top-earning athlete. Photo / Photosport
Honourable mentions
Richie Mo’unga: $2.2m (rugby); James McDonald: $1.930m (racing); Scott McLaughlin: $1.696m (motorsport); Lulu Sun: $1.372m (tennis), Steven Luatua: $1.33 million (rugby); Israel Adesanya: $1.278m (MMA).
America’s Cup heroes Peter Burling and Blair Tuke would likely feature on this list, but no mention of their incomes can be found.
Luke Kirkness is the Sports Planning Editor for the NZ Herald. He’s an award-winning journalist who also covered consumer affairs for the Herald and served as an assistant news director.
