I was recently watching Michael van Gerwen play Michael Smith on the PDC’s Premier League, and I wondered just how much do professional dart players earn. I scoured the internet, and I was surprised by what I found out.
So how much does a professional dart player make? The top professional dart players from the PDC can make as much as $1.9 Million (£1.6 Million) a year just from prize money from competing in matches and league play. Most professional dart players also receive sponsorship money as well. With prize money and sponsorship deals, the top professional dart player at the moment has an estimated net worth of over $6.5 Million (£5.3 Million).
There is a lot of money in present-day professional darts from prize winnings to sponsorships. Professional darts is watched on television all around the world. Most of the top-ten ranked professional dart players are multi-millionaires. One championship tournament alone has a $3 Million (£2.5 Million) prize fund payout. Keep reading to find out how much somebody can earn as a professional darts player.
Who Is The Highest Paid Dart Player?
Currently, the highest paid dart player on the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) Premier League is Michael van Gerwen from the Netherlands. During the 2019 PDC Premier League season, Michael van Gerwin won $1.9 Million (£1.6 Million) in prize winnings and has an estimated net worth of $6.5 Million (£5.3 Million) when you calculate sponsorship and endorsement deals. In one tournament alone, Michael van Gerwen won $621,000 (£500,000).
How Much Is Phil Taylor Worth?
No discussion of professional dart player earnings can be complete without mentioning Phil “The Power” Taylor. Phil Taylor is one of the most winning professional dart players in history. Up until recently, no one has won more professional tournaments than Phil (Michael van Gernwen recently surpassed Phil’s record in 2019). For over a decade, Phil Taylor has been the highest earning career professional dart player ever. He has career winnings of over $8.8 Million (£7.1 Million).
Phil Taylor retired from professional darts in 2018. When making a comparison of Phil Taylor to the current highest paid professional dart player Michael van Gernwen one can use Formula 1 to help explain it. You can think of Phil Taylor as the Michael Schumacher of darts while Michael van Gerwen is the Lewis Hamilton of darts.
Is Professional Darts Rich?
The most visible and largest professional darts organization in the world today is the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) from the United Kingdom. The most prestigious PDC league is the Premier League Darts which is broadcasted on TV around the world and millions watch each week. The single largest tournament is the PDC World Darts Championship with a total prize fund payout of $3 Million (£2.5 Million).
From prize winnings alone, being a professional darts players can be quite lucrative if you are consistently winning. In addition to prize winnings, professional darts players have individual sponsorship deals with a wide variety of companies.
Top 10 Ranked Professional Dart Players
| Rank | Dart Pro Name | Country | Prize Money (£ GBP) | Prize Money ($ USD) |
| 1 | Michael van Gerwen | Netherlands | £3,061,070 | $3,719,353 |
| 2 | Rob Cross | England | £1,339,500 | $1,627,559 |
| 3 | Peter Wright | Scotland | £1,314,053 | $1,596,640 |
| 4 | Gary Anderson | Scotland | £1,144,855 | $1,391,056 |
| 5 | Michael Smith | England | £936,110 | $1,137,420 |
| 6 | Daryl Gurney | Northern Ireland | £913,250 | $1,109,644 |
| 7 | Mensur Suljovic | Austria | £763,750 | $927,994 |
| 8 | James Wade | England | £743,892 | $903,866 |
| 9 | Gerwyn Price | Wales | £722,803 | $878,242 |
| 10 | Dave Chisnall | England | £558,892 | $679,082 |
Data from December 2017 thru August 2019 (Darts Database http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/PlayerStats.aspx) August 2019 GBP to USD Exchange Rate.
Dart Player Sponsorships And Endorsements
Not only does the PDC have their own sponsorship deals with online betting and dart manufacturers, but individual dart players have personal sponsors. The most common endorsement deal for a professional dart player is with dart equipment manufacturers like Winmau, Target, and Unicorn. Because of this, most professional darts players have their own signature darts that fans can purchase.
The more popular darts players like Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwin have dozens of different signature darts. Additionally, dart players might have endorsements from a range of companies like moving businesses and travel companies to tire manufactures. Sponsor names are typically adorned to each player’s jersey.
Related Questions
How do you become a professional dart player? Darts is a game of skill and as such requires thousands of hours of practice and playing dart matches. I suggest joining a darts club and playing as much as humanly possible against other opponents. Since the center of professional darts is in the UK, plan on moving to the UK and entering as many amateur darts leagues as you can.
To join the PDC circuit, you will have to qualify during the annual PDC Qualifying School for a chance to win a PDC Tour Card. Click here to view the details on how to join the PDC Professional Tour on PDC’s website.
Where can I watch professional darts? You can watch professional darts on TV in the United States on BBC America and in the UK on Sky Sports. Check to see if your local broadcaster carries the PDC on PDC’s website. You can also stream professional darts online with a subscription to PDCTV. Check out PDCTV on PDC’s website.