The Top-Earning Ski Racers Made Close To $1 Million This Season
Skiing, as most people know, isn't the most lucrative sporting vocation.
While top stars tend to make a solid amount of cash, it usually pales in comparison to the earnings of a football or basketball player.
Still, according to information published by FIS, the governing body of alpine ski racing and other ski disciplines, you can walk away from a winter with hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize winnings if you consistently reach the World Cup podium.
This past season, Mikaela Shiffrin, unsurprisingly, topped the women's standings and came away with the biggest earnings. In her preferred discipline, slalom, she won nine races, nearly clinching a perfect slalom season.
That streak, alongside some solid giant slalom performances, pushed Shiffrin to €615,167 ($726,000-all of the USD conversions are approximate).
For Shiffrin, it wasn't the only avenue that provided a paycheck. Like other big names, she has endorsements, too, although we don't know those financial details.
In prize winnings, Shiffrin maintained a significant lead over the second-highest earner, Germany's Emma Aicher.
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Top Three Women's Alpine Ski Racing Prize Earnings
- Mikaela Shiffrin: €615,167
- Emma Aicher: €387,265.50
- Julia Scheib: €340,942
The dominant Swiss skier Marco Odermatt had a big lead, too. He's a multi-discipline threat, having claimed podium finishes in everything from downhill to giant slalom. That translated to €741,254 ($874,800).
This is how he stacked up against the other top three earners.
Top Three Men's Alpine Ski Racing Prize Earnings
- Marco Odermatt: €741,254
- Lucas Pinheiro Braathen: €359,264
- Loic Meillard: €317,325
How Much Do Other Ski Disciplines Pay?
Typically, at World Cup races, a total of €167,619 ($197,800) was up for grabs this season, divided between the top 30 skiers. The winner walks away with €54,709 ($64,500). The 30th-place finisher gets €816 ($963).
That's far more money than is on the line for halfpipe or slopestyle. Take the men's halfpipe competition in Silvaplana, Switzerland, earlier this season, for example. At that event, €35,000 ($41,000) was divided between the top ten skiers. The winner got €15,750 ($18,500).
Last summer, FIS announced that its council members voted in favor of a prize-winning increase of up to 20% across all of its disciplines, with FIS and Local Organizing Committees each providing half of that increase. The LOC contributions were on "a voluntary basis."
In a press release shared at the time, FIS president Johan Eliasch acknowledged that "we still have a lot to do when it comes to rewarding our athletes as they deserve."
"This is an important step," he continued, "but only another one in a long way ahead."
Outside of FIS, other organizations are working to give freestyle skiers larger prize purses.
The Snow League, a halfpipe circuit led by the Olympian and snowboarder Shaun White, has made waves with its athlete payouts.
First-place finishers earn $55,000, close to what World Cup ski racers clinch when they win. And every athlete comes away with at least $5,000, regardless of where they place.
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This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 2:54 AM.