Biggest paydays in New Zealand sport

Following Danny Lee’s massive payday Cameron McMillan looks at the big earners in the history of New Zealand sport in Tucson this week.

1) Joseph Parker (boxing) – NZ$10-12 million

The actual payday has
was never announced, but it was reported that Parker broke eight figures for the heavyweight fight with Anthony Joshua in Cardiff 2018. Parker went into the fight as the defending WBO title and faced the WBA (Super), IBF and IBO Heavyweight Champion – losing by unanimous decision. 78,000 spectators attended Principality Stadium ($10.4 million in ticket sales) while the pay-per-view alone brought in $40 million.

With reports that the Kiwi got $25 million for the fight, as did Joshua, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said on Twitter, “Cut in half and it’s still too much” in reference to Parker’s take-away fee for the loss.

2) David Tua (boxing) – NZ$10.3 million

The Kiwi heavyweight paid well when he fought Lennox Lewis for the WBC, IBF and IBO titles in Las Vegas in 2000. Like Parker, Tua went the distance against the Brit but lost by unanimous decision. Tua reportedly earned $4 million for the fight – at a time when the NZD was at an all-time low against the mighty greenback – meaning he took home more than NZ$10 million for the fight.

3) Danny Lee (Golf) – NZ$6.3 million

The world number 267. (up one place this week) cashed in on his second start on the LIV Tour. This season on the PGA Tour, his biggest payday was $134,000 for a 16th place finish at the American Express Tournament – after amassing $316,795 in 11 tournaments. The $4 million win at the LIV Golf Tucson event is the biggest cash prize by a Kiwi golfer. His 215 total shots over the three days, including the playoffs, meant he made $29,674 per racquet shot (excluding practice swings). When asked in the press conference that followed how life-changing the win was, Lee replied, “I mean, it wouldn’t change my life.” With 11 more tournaments in the LIV season and the same prize money offered each time, it could Lee to be a pretty decent earner thanks to the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund.

4) Lydia Ko (Golf) – NZ$3.25m

Ko’s has had many big wins in her career, including two major titles, but the biggest in terms of prize money came last year when she won the CME Tour Championship title for the second time. In doing so, she won the highest prize in women’s golf, $2 million, which earned her LPGA Player of the Year. Ko is approaching NZ$30 million in career prize money alone.

5) Michael Campbell (Golf) – NZ$2.57m

Campbell had one hell of a year in 2005, winning the US Open and then the HSBC World Match Play Championship, which came with a check for £1,000,000 – the top prize in golf at the time. Campbell defeated Ireland’s Paul McGinley 2 and 1 in the finals after getting past top seed Retief Goosen in the semis. His US Open win at No. 2 Pinehurst a few months earlier came with a US$1.17 million (NZ$1.65 million) payday.

6) Craig Perks (Golf) – NZ$2.49m

Perks was ranked No. 203 in the world when he stunned the field to win the 2002 Players Championship, considered golf’s fifth major. Perks finished with eagle birdie par, including a chip-in off a thick greenside rough on the last hole. It was the richest payout on the PGA Tour at the time – $1,080,000. He even got praise from Tiger Woods. “You’re amazing,” Woods said. “Absolutely unbelievable.”

Big pay but no paydays

Steven Adams (basketball)

Since joining the NBA in 2013, the Kiwi center has earned more than $128.8 million this year with a salary of $17.9 million for the Memphis Grizzlies. At his peak, he was making $29 million annually for the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2020-21 season – about NZ$40.5 million.

Chris Wood (football)

The All Whites skipper and Nottingham Forest forward is reportedly making an annual salary of £4,160,000 at £80,000 a week ($158,000 NZ). Impressive but not up there with a good week by Danny Lee’s standards.

Kyle Jamieson (cricket)

The fast bowler was snapped up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2021 Indian Premier League for a whopping NZ$2.86 million (rupees 15 crore) – the highest price ever for a black cap. However, IPL contracts are not direct cash and depend on how many games you play and other incentives to earn the full amount. As such, it’s unclear how much Jamieson will pocket from the contract after missing part of the season.

Israel Adesanya (UFC)

Adesanya reportedly has one of the biggest deals at UFC, earning more than $1 million in the fight and earning a pay-per-view percentage on top of that.

Russell Coutts (sailing)

After successfully defending the America’s Cup with Team New Zealand in 2000, Coutts shocked the nation by joining Swiss team Alingi and winning the Auld Mug three years later. Alinghi boss Ernesto Bertarelli later revealed that Coutt’s salary was comparable to that of football’s greatest players. “I can’t reveal the terms of the contract, but you’d be shocked. His salary doesn’t lag behind that of the top Swiss CEOs,” said Bertarelli, who was then worth $11.4 billion.