- Bull riding is a spectator sport with competitions being seen by crowds in rodeo arenas across the world. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the average salary for athletes in spectator sports at $104,470 as of 2010. The average bull rider works other jobs to earn a living and to pay for insurance, tournament fees and travel expenses associated with the sport.
- An April 2011 article for Espn.com lists boxing and baseball as the highest-paying sports in the U.S. with the top salaries being $32 million in each sport: Manny Pacquaio and Alex Rodriguez. In comparison, bull riding's top purse in 2010 went to Renato Nunes, who earned more than $1.59 million as a rider for Professional Bull Riders.
- At tournaments such as the Copenhagen Bull Riding Challenger, the winning bull rider can earn as much as $500,000, according to a February 2008 article for Pbrnow.com. Equally as important is that this is for eight seconds worth of work. Typically, pay days are considerably smaller for tournament; however, bull riders still earn multiple thousands of dollars for a tournament win. Shawn Hogg, winner of the first round of the 2010 Houston Bull Riding Championship,earned $13,982.50. His traveling partner, Luke Haught, earned $22,771.40 as the winner of the Xtreme Bull Fighting Championship.
- Bull riders on the rodeo circuit earn meager salaries compared with those working for professional bull riding organizations. However, the risk for injury is higher for professional bull riders as bulls weigh more and are known to throw riders and crush them with their thorns. Because bull riders are self-employed, they must obtain their own health insurance, which can be expensive because of the high risk for injury in the profession. As such, much of bull riders salaries have to be saved to cover medical expenses.
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