NASCAR drivers salaries are skyrocketing
06/04/08 Unlike other big league professional sports, NASCAR’s teams and drivers don’t disclose compensation. The public knows what Peyton Manning, Alex Rodriguez and Kobe Bryant earn, but can only guess and wonder about Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch.
NASCAR does release money won from purses, and it’s a recognized fact that drivers get a healthy percentage, splitting the rest with the team. But how big a cut is open to negotiation and also can be dependant upon where a driver finishes in races and the season standings. It’s safe to assume, for example, that with four wins and $3,245,614 in official Sprint Cup earnings in 13 races this year, Kyle Busch has already cleared more than $1 million in prize money.
Salaries and bonuses are closely guarded secrets by both sides. There are no salary caps or player unions or minimums based upon years in the league in NASCAR, or any other form of racing, and it allows them to keep their business private. They like it that way.
When Jeff Gordon was going through his divorce with first wife several years ago, she sued to force Hendrick Motorsports to open its books and show what Jeff had made. Hendrick and Gordon were able to block the demand in court, but it points to fact that even some husbands don’t tell their wives about their contracts on the circuit.
Owners, drivers, agents, sponsors and manufacturers, who are all part of the contract process, wouldn’t talk about specific drivers and teams, but several sources say compensation at the top of the Sprint Cup food chain has been rising dramatically in the past year and a half.
Here are the parameters of what they’ve told me that drivers anywhere in the top 10, and not necessarily toward the top, are receiving this year: Retainers of $6.5 million to $7 million, $2 million in guaranteed prize money, a $500,000 to $1 million signing bonus and a personal services contract with the manufacturer or sponsor of $400,000 to $500,000. They also make big bucks on merchandising, but it’s difficult to assign a hard number because of the broad range that is based upon a driver’s popularity.
The bottom line: Every driver signing a new contract for 2009 can expect to make $10 million to $12 million over the life of a deal and ink a contract between three and five years in length. More at Sports Illustrated