How today’s MotoGP rider salaries compare to Valentino Rossi’s big-money deals
Valentino Rossi has been retired for two years but remains the benchmark for earnings in MotoGP.
The legend with seven premier class championships earned sums during his glory years which are far in excess of any of today’s riders - or any other rider in history.
Rossi pocketed €30m per year in 2008, 2009 and 2010, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, at the peak of his powers and fame.
In 2012, Rossi was the 20th highest-earning sportsperson in the world with a total earning of $30m.
In 2015, he was named the 14th highest-earning sportsperson over the course of the previous decade, with a total earning of $275m.
That was, and remains, unprecedented territory for a MotoGP rider.
Even when age caught up with him in 2020, one of his worst-ever racing years, Rossi’s earnings totalled €140m - through race prizes, sponsors, earnings from Yamaha, personal merchandise and other businesses to which he was connected.
He was paid only €7m by Yamaha in 2020, a very small wage by his considerable standards, reflecting his competitiveness at the time. That reduced to €4m in his final year in 2021.
Today Rossi’s companies generate a profit of €8m per year.
The highest-earner in MotoGP today is Marc Marquez.
He pockets €12.5m per year from Honda, on a contract which runs until the end of 2024, Cuatro report.
But his total annual earnings are €40m thanks to his other sponsorships from major brands.
These were the annual salaries of every MotoGP rider in 2022, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport:
Marc Marquez - €12.5m
Fabio Quartararo - €6m
Joan Mir - €6m
Francesco Bagnaia - €5m
Pol Espargaro - €3.5m
Jack Miller, Alex Rins , Franco Morbidelli - €3m
Johann Zarco - €2m
Maverick Vinales - €2m*
Aleix Espargaro - €2m*
Alex Marquez, Jorge Martin - €1m
Miguel Oliveira - €625,000
Takaaki Nakagami, Brad Binder - €500,000
Enea Bastianini , Fabio di Giannantonio - €375,000
Luca Marini - €300,000
Darryn Binder, Marco Bezzecchi, Raul Fernandez, Remy Gardner - €250,000
By contrast, the highest-paid in the list of F1 driver salaries is reportedly Max Verstappen ($55m / £45m).
While Lewis Hamilton is in the process of negotiating a new Mercedes contract which could reportedly be worth £40m per year.
Verstappen and Hamilton were the only motorsports representatives on the recent list of the 50 highest-paid athletes in the world, by Forbes.
The lowest on the list was NFL legend Tom Brady whose total earnings from May 2022 to May 2023 were $45.2m, meaning no MotoGP rider earned more than that.
