How Much Do Professional Paintball Players Make?

Professional paintball is a demanding yet rewarding sporting pursuit that requires training, licensing, and a lot of dedication to achieve success. As with any professional sport, paintballers can make significantly higher salaries than other players, depending on their rank and tournament accolades. But how much do professional paintballers really make?

League and Team Salaries

Each of the major paintball leagues have different salary caps for their players. The amount of money that an individual player earns depends on the team's budget for player salary, the number of tournament wins, and performance on the field. Professional paintballers who play for the National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) or the Paintball Sports Promotions (PSP) World Series Pro City are typically paid salaries of between $75,000 and $125,000 per year.

Tournament Bonuses and Prizes

Many professional paintballers depend on tournament bonuses, as the prize money is much larger than the salaries paid. Teams that make it into the top 12 in a tournament series get a bonus of between $3,000 and $5,000. The top 8 teams can expect to win even more between $7,000 and $10,000.

The grand prize for the World Pro Series Finals is $50,000. The winner takes home half of this amount leaving the remaining $25,000 for the second place winner.

Sponsorships and Endorsements

On top of tournament bonuses and salaries, professional paintballers have the chance to make additional money from sponsorships. Professional paintballers may be able to secure endorsements from companies that manufacture paintball supplies. Depending on the level of fame they have achieved, some players can even make money from endorsements of other products that are unrelated to the sport.

Brief Recap

Professional paintball is a demanding yet rewarding sport with great potential to make money. Players who play for one of the major paintball leagues are typically paid salaries of between $75,000 and $125,000 per year. Teams that make it into the top 12 in a tournament series get a bonus of between $3,000 and $5,000. The grand prize for the World Pro Series Finals is $50,000 with the winner taking home half of this amount and the second place winner receiving the remaining $25,000. On top of tournament bonuses and salaries, professional paintballers have the chance to make additional money from sponsorships and endorsements.