All About the Benjamins: Motocross Top Money Earners to date

One of my very favorite features of the twice-monthly Motocross Illustrated magazine is their “Earnings Leaders” column in which they list the top 35 money makers in American motocross. In the latest, May 29^th issue, they list all dollars earned up to May 8^th, which effectively means all the purse money paid out during the Amp’d Mobile Supercross series.

Surprising no one, of course, is the fact that James Stewart leads the way with his double championship, taking home a healthy $385k. What I find rather surprising is the fact that only ONE OTHER RACER cracked the $100,000 mark… of course that would be second place Chad Reed, who earned nearly $175k. Tim Ferry almost made it with $98k, but he’s the last rider to clear 90 grand.

The earnings drop off quickly after that, and another surprise that there are two riders in the top ten that did not make at least $50 grand. That’s for 15 races in the U.S.

Other shocking figures? How about this one: East Coast regional champion Ben Townley only made $14,650, putting him at 28^th on the list. Yamaha of Troy’s Ryan Morais, who almost won the East title, DIDN’T EVEN MAKE THE LIST.

Two riders out of the entire list of 35 failed to crack the $10,000 earning barrier… one of them was Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Chris Gosselaar, who finished 5^th overall in the West. He only made $8,910 for his efforts.

Wow.

Imagine how those guys with Supercross Only contracts must feel.