Steven Adams, Joseph Parker, Chris Wood, Ryan Fox, Scott Dixon, Steven Alker, Ben Campbell, Danny Lee, Trent Boult, Richie Mo'unga. Design / Paul Slater
Any analysis of New Zealand’s highest-paid sportspeople proves the big bucks are made overseas. All 10 of the country’s top earners ascended to the pinnacle of their professions, and all ply their trade overseas.
Information on their exact earnings is varied and difficult to find across different sports. We don’t have than a direct window into their bank accounts, but best endeavours have been made to source all publicly available information to ensure accuracy.
The criteria:
- Active Kiwi sportspeople only.
- No coaches or administrators.
- Salary and competition revenue only. No commercial or sponsorship earnings included.
(All money referred to is in NZD.)
The All Blacks’ struggle for consistency at first five-eighths seems only to have enhanced the appetite for Richie Mo’unga to occupy the No 10 jersey at the 2027 World Cup. The former Crusader may be on his way back, but he has made the most of his stint in Japan, winning back-to-back Rugby League One titles with the Toshiba Brave Lupus.
His contract is worth $2.4 million per season, but it is unknown whether Mo’unga would have received a bonus for continuing his championship-winning exploits.
No rugby players featured on our list of top earners last year.
In 2025, the former Black Cap continued in his new venture as a hired gun in the T20 arena. This year, Boult competed in the Indian Premier League, Major League Cricket, The Hundred and the Abu Dhabi T10. The IPL is easily his most lucrative venture. He amassed between $2.64m and $2.816m playing for the Mumbai Indians, during which they finished fourth on the ladder before losing to the Punjab Kings in the second qualifying final.
Boult accumulated a handy $264,000 in the service of the franchise’s sister team, MI New York, who clinched the MLC title by beating Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips’ Washington Freedom in the final. If signed on a top-tier contract, Boult would have earned $466,000 playing for the Birmingham Phoenix in England’s The Hundred, where they finished fifth on the table.
Boult also competed in the Abu Dhabi T10 league, though the earnings from this competition are not public.
Love him or hate him, Ben Stokes is a New Zealander, born and raised.
The former Christchurch and Wellington local turned England cricket captain’s current ECB contract is worth between $1.63m and $1.87m, according to CricExec.com.
With the Ashes ongoing, Stokes is set to feature in nine tests in 2025 – having missed the final test against India in July – with a match fee of $34,000 per test, totalling another $306,000.
Stokes opted out of The Hundred and the IPL this year. However, he did feature for Mumbai Indians Cape Town in the South Africa T20 league in January. According to the Telegraph, his contract is thought to be worth $1.87m.
Stokes earns around $1.17m from brand partnerships, including Adidas, Red Bull, and Gunn & Moore. However, this figure has not been included in Stokes’ total as the commercial earnings of the other athletes are unknown.
The Kiwi golfers are enjoying the lavish prize money that comes with the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf circuit. According to Fox Sports, Campbell’s total prize money for the year was just over $5.5m. Campbell finished 36th in the overall LIV standings, highlighted by a third-place finish in Singapore in March.
Meanwhile, compatriot Danny Lee took home $3.4 million. Lee finished 43rd overall with a best finish of tying for ninth in Miami.
According to the PGA Champions Tour website, Alker sits third on the Charles Schwab money list, having earned $5.66m.
Two wins highlighted his 2025 season. He won the Cologuard Classic in March, for which he took home $590,000. Alker also clinched the Simmons Bank Championship in October, pocketing a respectable $652,000.
The six-time IndyCar champion is the only Kiwi driver for whom a trace of earnings can be found. According to Front Office Sports, Dixon earns between $6.2-$8m under Chip Ganassi Racing.
The salaries of compatriots Scott McLaughlin and Marcus Armstrong are also likely to be in the millions. Dixon finished third in the overall championship standings this year, well back from winner Alex Palou.
Fox has continued to establish himself not only as a PGA Tour regular but also as a genuine threat in every tournament. Fox has competed in 21 PGA Tour events this year, pocketing $7.12m.
The Kiwi’s stellar year was highlighted with victories at the Myrtle Beach Classic in South Caroline - earning over $1.25m - and the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto, for which he pocketed over $3m. He’s also competed in eight DP World Tour events, earning $1.22m.
Easily New Zealand’s greatest ever footballer, Wood’s annual Premier League salary with Nottingham Forest is worth about $11m per year.
Forest fell away at the back end of the previous Premier League season - in which Wood finished fourth equal on the goalscorers list with 20 – to finish seventh and miss out on European competition. They’ve made a slow start to the current season, floating just above the relegation zone.
Parker only fought twice in 2025, with his recent shock TKO defeat by Fabio Wardley sending his chance to challenge Oleksandr Usyk for the unified heavyweight championship down in flames. His wallet, however, is in good nick.
On February 22, he fought against Martin Bakole, who stepped in for Daniel Dubois on a week’s notice. The Kiwi made light work of Bakole, knocking him out in the second round. Parker is estimated to have earned $14m. Parker’s 11th-round loss to Wardley on October 25 is estimated to have earned him $5.14m
New Zealand’s NBA basketball icon continues to dominate the country’s rich list. In June, Adams signed a three-year contract extension with the Houston Rockets worth $69.66m, meaning an income of $23.2m per year.
The 2024-25 NBA season represented a comeback of sorts for Adams, who missed the majority of the 2023-24 season with injury. He was second only to future Hall of Famer Steph Curry in the NBA’s Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, recognising his leadership and selflessness. The 32-year-old is known for his rebounding and off-the-ball work, allowing others to flourish in the stats.
Honourable mentions…
Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson, IndyCar drivers Scott McLaughlin and Marcus Armstrong, sailor Peter Burling and Formula E drivers Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans would also likely feature on this list, if there were credible sources for their earnings. Lydia Ko had a quieter year in comparison with her blockbusting 2024, accumulating $1,970,000 million NZD. Ko’s sole victory came at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, for which she pocketed $643,000.
Nathan Limm has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast and commentates rugby and netball for Gold Sport.