This is the story of money and muscles. On the heels of baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani signing a $700 million contract—the biggest in sports history—we computed the career contest earnings of pro bodybuilders. Of course, contest checks are one of several ways the best bodybuilders make mint. Many have or had very lucrative, nutritional supplement sponsorships, for example. Still, it’s enlightening to see just how much these legends totaled for winning and nearly winning pro shows.
As with all sports, contest pay has increased dramatically over the past decade, even if the raise is mostly limited to open male competitors at the Olympia and Arnold Classic. How much so? Current Mr. Olympia Derek Lunsford has competed in only two open pro shows, but he’s taken home $550,000 from those: 2nd in the 2022 Olympia, first in 2023. Add that to his 212-division pro winnings, and Lunsford is at $653,000. In contrast, six-time Mr. O Dorian Yates made all of his $740,000 from 17 pro shows in the ’90s, 15 of which he won. He never made more than $110,000 for winning an Olympia.
Time marches on. And this list may be shaken up dramatically in coming years with the news that the Arnold Classic will raise its top prize to $500,000 in 2025 and the Mr. Olympia likely to follow suit with big raises this year or next. But let’s focus on the present. Let’s see who makes the list, and let’s count their money. These are, currently, the top dozen bodybuilding contest earners of all time.
1. PHIL HEATH
$2,985,000
2006-18, ’20
Let’s round it up to $3 mil. Seven-time Mr. Olympia Phil Heath had the good fortune to see the Olympia top prize double during his reign from $200,000 in 2011 to $250,000 in 2012 and ’13 to $275,000 in 2014 and then all the way to its current $400,000 for his final three wins: 2015-17. As a result, he made $2,175,000 over those seven years only by winning bodybuilding’s biggest title. Add two 2nd places, two 3rds, and a 5th, and, in total, Heath collected $2,625,000 (a whopping 88% of his prize money) at the Mr. Olympia, over twice what anyone else has totalled there. Over his 14-year pro career, the Gift took home to Denver, on average, a record $213,214 annually in contest prize money.
Opening photo: Phil Heath earning $400K by winning the 2015 Mr. Olympia. / Per Bernal
2. DEXTER JACKSON
$2,883,000
1999-2020
Dexter Jackson is bodybuilding’s iron man. Over a record 22-year career, he racked up such records as most pro victories (30)*, most pro contests (91)*, most American Arnold Classic wins (5), most Mr. Olympia entries (21), most Mr. Olympia top-6 finishes (16), and on and on. Though he minted nearly as much as Heath over his lengthy career, Jackson did it differently. With only one Mr. Olympia title (2008, which paid $155,000), $1,116,000 of the Blade’s prize money was earned on the Olympia stage: 39%. It was the five Arnold Classic victories (one of which came with a Hummer) and all those other shows he won or nearly won that helped him total nearly $3 mil. Dexter Jackson earned an average of $131,045 annually from prize money.
* Includes his two Master’s Mr. Olympia wins.
3. JAY CUTLER
$1,940,000
1999-2011, ’13
In the rivalry between Cutler and Coleman, Jay Cutler wins when it comes to his bank account. (He’s one of the most financially successful pro bodybuilders off stages, as well. Rich Gaspari, Lee Labrada, and Chris Bumstead are three others who’ve leveraged their names into multi-million-dollar businesses.) His four Mr. Olympia victories (2006-07, 2009-10) came after Coleman’s eight, when the prize money was in a growth spurt. For Coleman’s first six he made $110,000 each, while Jay Cutler made $200,000 each for his final two. Additionally, Cutler won three Arnold Classics when the prize money was $100,000 plus a Hummer H2 and a pricey watch (we’ve estimated the resale value of both together at $70,000). The six Olympia seconds added up, too, as the popular Jay Cutler was one of the top two bodybuilders in the world for over a decade. He made $1,232,000 (63.5%) of his contest earnings on the Olympia stage. On average, Jay Cutler made $138,571 annually from bodybuilding competitions.
4. RONNIE COLEMAN
$1,517,000
1992-2007
Ronnie Coleman may be the GOAT of bodybuilding, but he peaked too early to be paid accordingly. During his record-tying eight years atop the bodybuilding world (1998-2005) he never pocketed more than $155,000 for winning the Mr. Olympia, and that only came in his final year on top. Usually, it was $110,000 annually. Over his 15 Olympia appearances, Coleman collected a total of $1,087,000 (72% of his contest earnings). He also won the Arnold Classic in 2001, back when the title came with $100K and a new Hummer H2—sneakily, a better, total payday than the Mr. Olympia then. (Coleman kept the Hummer and drove it for years.) Over his 16-year career, Ronnie Coleman averaged $94,813 annually from flexing in professional contests.
5. MAMDOUH “BIG RAMY” ELSSBIAY
$1,470,500
2013-18, ’20-’22
Big Ramy earned over half his prize money tally in two contests when he won the 2020 and 2021 Mr. Olympias and pocked $400K for each. He’s made $1,163,000 (79%) of his total on the Olympia stage. He’s only competed in one American Arnold Classic (3rd in 2020), but he did win the 2015 Arnold Classic Brazil and 2017 Arnold Classic Europe. On average, Ramy has made $163,389 annually in prize money, second all-time behind only Phil Heath.
6. BRANDON CURRY
$1,313,000
2010-2023
Despite his lengthy 14-year career, Brandon Curry collected the vast majority of his prize earnings—just over one million—in a three-year span: 2019 Arnold Classic 1st ($130K), 2019 Mr. Olympia 1st ($400K), 2020 Mr. O 2nd ($150K), 2021 Mr. O 2nd ($150K), 2022 Arnold Classic 1st ($200K). Curry has made $862,000 at the Mr. Olympia (66% of his prize earnings). His baller years were preceded by some lean years (in three, he made $0 from contests). So, over his whole pro career, Curry’s average annual prize earnings is currently $93,786.
7. KAI GREENE
$1,241,000
2005-14, ’16
Kai Greene started slow, finishing near the bottom of his first pro contests and failing to make a dollar in prize money his first two years. But he finished strong by placing second behind Heath in his final three Mr. Olympias and winning three Arnold Classics (including the big one in Columbus, Ohio) in his final pro year. All told, Greene won three of the high-paying American Arnold Classics. He totalled $573,000 (46% of his contest earnings) on the Olympia stage. Over his 11 year career, Kai Greene averaged $112,818 annually.
8. HADI CHOOPAN
$1,133,000
2016-2024
Until this year, Hadi Choopan, the 2022 Mr. Olympia, has made almost all of his over $800K over just five recent Mr. O’s. In those O’s—the only five he’s entered—the Iranian champ has been, in order: 3rd ($100K), 4th ($55K), 3rd ($100K), 1st ($400K), and 2nd ($150K), for a total of $805,000. That was a whopping 97% of his contest earnings. But that all changed, when he won the Arnold Classic in March and pocketed another $300,000. Over his nine-year career, Hadi Choopan has so far averaged $125,888 annually from bodybuilding contests, but that could increase significantly when we add on his earnings for this year’s Mr. Olympia contest.
9. WILLIAM BONAC
$1,112,000
2012-2022
You might be surprised by the final member of the million-dollar club, because, like the more celebrated Greene, he’s never won a Mr. Olympia title. However, William Bonac has been second (2019) and third (2017) in the Mr. Olympia, won the Arnold Classic twice (2018, 2020), and been second in the Arnold Classic two other times (2019, 2022). Five of those were six-figure paydays, and the sixth was $75K. It’s been at the Arnold where he’s really cleaned up. Remarkably, in only four appearances, Bonac made $525,000 (47% of his total) at the American Arnold Classic, never placing lower than runner-up. In contrast, he’s won $442,000 (40% of his total) at the Mr. Olympia in eight appearances. Over his 11-year career, Bonac has so far averaged $101,091 annually.
10. VICTOR MARTINEZ
$982,000
2001-07, ’09-’11, ’13-’17, ’19-’20
Victor Martinez flexed in 17 pro seasons over a 20-year span. Like his fellow New Yorker, Kai Greene, Martinez started slow, failing to take home a buck in his first two years. But five years later, in 2007, he was the world’s second-best bodybuilder, winning the Arnold Classic and finishing behind only Cutler in the Mr. Olympia (which many believe he should’ve won). He made $332,000 of his contest earnings at the Olympia: 34%. It was his five top-four Arnold finishes that really boosted his bottom line. Still, when viewed over his two-decade career, that line is rather ordinary. The Dominican Dominator made $57,764 annually from pro shows, which is the lowest tally on our list.
11. BRANCH WARREN
$979,000
2004-16
Branch Warren made most of his nearly a million over a four-year stretch (2009-12) when he was second and third in the Mr. Olympia and won two consecutive Arnold Classics. And, like Martinez, who barely edged him here in a photo finish, Texan Warren collected most of his loot at the Arnold each March. He finished in the money (top six) in the Arnold Classic a whopping nine times for a total payday of $540,000 (55% of his total). In contrast he took home $317,000 from the Olympia, which is merely 32% of his prize earnings—the lowest percentage on this list. It proves there are multiple ways to manage a successful bodybuilding career. Over his 13 pro years, Branch Warren averaged $75,308 annually.
12. KEVIN LEVRONE
$950,000
1992-2003, ’16, ’18
Despite collecting most of his prize money over two decades ago, when payouts were significantly lower than today, Kevin Levrone nearly totalled a million. He did this by racking up a lot of pro wins (20), including the Arnold Classic twice (1994, 1996), and a gaggle of high Olympia placings: four seconds (1992, 1995, 2000, 2002), three thirds (1994, 1996, 2001), and three fourths (1997, 1998, 1999). All in all, it really added up. Levrone made $445,000 (47%) of his prize earnings at the Olympia, and he averaged $67,857 annually over 14 professional years.
PRO BODYBUILDER CAREER EARNINGS: 4 OTHER NOTABLES
Dennis Wolf: $827,000 (11 years)
Dorian Yates: $740,000 (8 years)
Flex Wheeler: $691,000 (10 years)
Derek Lunsford: $653,000 (7 years, 2 in the open division)
