PGA Tour pro defends Scottie Scheffler's $62,000,000 winning as fan compares it to NFL star Patrick Mahomes’ season earning

Scottie Scheffler won a total prize money of $62,228,357 in the 2024 PGA Tour season. This includes official money of $29,228,357 he won on the PGA Tour, $25 million he won for winning the Tour Championship and $8 million for finishing on top of the FedExCup Regular Season standings.

However, an X user said that though Scheffler's 2024 season should be celebrated, it should also be seen as a warning sign. He questioned if it was stable for a golfer to earn more than athletes like Patrick Mahomes, especially when fan interest is declining and there are concerns of an economic downturn.

In response, PGA Tour player Michael Sangwon Kim defended Scottie Scheffler's 2024 earnings. Kim said that he understands the point but it's an "apples to oranges" comparison. Kim pointed out that NBA players' maximum contacts are expected to reach $80-90 million per year in the next 2-3 years.

"Totally get it but it’s a bit apples to oranges. NBA players max contracts will be 80-90m per yr on a max deal in the next 2-3 years. NFL is wildly popular but they have over a 1000 players. They have a salary cap and players almost never go to complete free agency which caps their earnings. And there’s always talk about an economic recession from people but no one really knows when it’s coming so," Kim said.

NFL star and quarterback Patrick Mahomes made $59.35 million in 2023 from his NFL contract alone, as per Sportac.

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Top earners in the 2024 season on PGA Tour ft. Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler is the top earner with $62.2 million on the PGA Tour. He earned more than twice that of Xander Schauffele who earned $29.1 million.

Let's take a look at the top 50 PGA Tour players' 2024 earnings which includes official earnings on the PGA Tour with the earnings of $100 million Tour Championship and $40 million bonus awarded to the the top-10 FedExCup Regular Season players:

1. Scottie Scheffler: $62,228,357.00 ($25,000,000.00 + $8 million)
2. Xander Schauffele: $29,189,243.33 ($4,833,333.33 + $6 million)
3. Collin Morikawa: $25,265,977.00 ($12,500,000.00 + $4.4 million)
4. Sahith Theegala: $18,581,285.00 ($7,500,000.00 + $2.8 million)
5. Wyndham Clark: $17,151,416.00 ($2,250,000.00 + $4 million)
6. Hideki Matsuyama: $15,245,944.33 ($1,608,333.33 + $2.4 million)
7. Rory McIlroy: $17,302,123.33 ($1,608,333.33 + $4.8 million)
8. Ludvig Åberg: $13,923,857.00 ($795,000.00 + $3.4 million)
9. Russell Henley: $9,914,302.33 ($4,833,333.33)
10. Adam Scott: $9,586,505.33 ($4,833,333.33)
11. Sungjae Im: $11,072,325.00 ($2,750,000.00 + $2.2 million)
12. Shane Lowry: $9,704,214.33 ($1,608,333.33 + $2 million)
13. Keegan Bradley: $7,539,455.00 ($660,000.00)
14. Sam Burns: $7,185,830.00 ($1,000,000.00)
15. Patrick Cantlay: $7,034,965.00 ($755,000.00)
16. Chris Kirk: $6,598,786.00 ($575,000.00)
17. Byeong Hun An: $6,531,643.00 ($660,000.00)
18. Tony Finau: $6,321,467.00 ($615,000.00)
19. Robert MacIntyre: $6,155,384.00 ($755,000.00)
20. Matthieu Pavon: $6,009,412.00 ($755,000.00)
21. Akshay Bhatia: $5,934,905.00 ($590,000.00)
22. Billy Horschel: $5,652,278.00 ($615,000.00)
23. Viktor Hovland: $5,616,727.00 ($1,000,000.00)
24. Christiaan Bezuidenhout: $5,581,363.00 ($555,000.00)
25. Taylor Pendrith: $5,484,104.00 ($905,000.00)
26. Justin Thomas: $5,380,561.00 ($905,000.00)
27. Tommy Fleetwood: $5,324,158.00 ($715,000.00)
28. Aaron Rai: $5,228,515.00 ($615,000.00)
29. Tom Hoge: $5,183,329.00 ($555,000.00)
30. Sepp Straka: $5,176,079.00 ($575,000.00)
31. Max Homa: $3,986,432.00 ($200,000.00)
32. Matt Fitzpatrick: $3,911,463.00 ($206,000.00)
33. J.T. Poston: $3,896,765.00 ($205,000.00)
34. Alex Noren: $3,858,210.00 ($209,000.00)
35. Austin Eckroat: $3,834,335.00 ($201,000.00)
36. Thomas Detry: $3,818,669.00 ($204,000.00)
37. Eric Cole: $3,405,297.00 ($196,000.00)
38. Max Greyserman: $3,394,556.00 ($198,000.00)
39. Nick Taylor: $3,323,045.00 ($188,000.00)
40. Jake Knapp: $3,273,813.00 ($187,000.00)
41. Justin Rose: $3,249,683.00 ($191,000.00)
42. Mackenzie Hughes: $3,154,908.00 ($194,000.00)
43. Maverick McNealy: $3,115,633.00 ($193,000.00)
44. Nick Dunlap: $3,075,325.00 ($197,000.00)
45. Harris English: $3,014,188.00 ($189,000.00)
46. Ben Griffin: $2,976,277.00 ($185,000.00)
47. Patrick Rodgers: $2,908,754.00 ($192,000.00)
48. Jordan Spieth: $2,907,591.00 ($175,000.00)
49. Taylor Moore: $2,712,829.00 ($185,000.00)
50. Peter Malnati: $2,705,248.00 ($185,000.00)