Jordan Spieth experienced a fantastic season this year. And if we look at it in numbers, it looks “miraculous”. Only this year, Spieth earned 12 million US dollars at tournaments (it is necessary to add on the fabulous $10 million bonus for the overall victory in the FedEx Cup). This is a record sum; the current record holder, Vijay Singh, earned one million dollars less in 2004.

Spieth earned $31 million throughout his short career on the PGA Tour. Something like that at his age – he is still only 22 years old – has never been achieved by anyone. Other young players are far behind him. Even Tiger Woods when he was 22 years old had “just” about $3 million in his account.

When we add $10 million for the FedEx Cup, Jordan Spieth won $22,030,465 in total on the course this season. And that means that the likeable Texan won:

• $881,219 per event
• $259,346 per round
• $139,058 per hole
• $3,623 per shot

These well deserved earnings are not bad, aren’t they? His victories make him the youngest player to win five times in a season since 21-year-old Horton Smith in 1929.

Other numerical comparisons are also very interesting. If we take into account only the last tournament of the season – the Tour Championship – Spieth earned $11,485,000 here, which is twice as much as Jack Nicklaus earned during his whole career, and six times as much as the “King”, Arnold Palmer, earned.

Surely, comparing the earnings across different golf eras is not entirely fair, since earnings in recent years, thanks to Tiger Woods, have grown exponentially. But it gives us a pretty clear picture, i.e. Spieth can become the best earning player in golf history. Tiger Woods has earned almost 123 million US dollars on the course during his existing career and if Spieth continues playing and earning like he has done this year, it is not such a distant amount of money.

Big money even off-course

In addition, Spieth is very well poised to keep earning big money even off-course. He signed a ten-year contract with Under Armour sportswear brand. His sponsors also include AT&T, Titleist, Perfect Sense, Rolex, NetJets and Super Strokes. This year, thanks to these contracts, even including the entry fees in tournaments outside the United States, he earned over $50 million.

That’s quite a nice amount of money, don’t you think? For comparison – according to Forbes magazine – this year best-paid Hollywood actor, Robert Downey Jr., earned about $80 million. Spieth thus moves towards the wealthiest golfers in the world, as well as in the entertainment industry as such.

Spieth’s huge advantage is that he is not just good. He is mostly consistent. His name can be found at the top of the golf leader board on virtually every tournament in which he plays. That is why TV cameras like him, which is in turn appreciated by the companies he cooperates with. Moreover, his success is not accidental – he has already won five times this season, including two majors; on other two Grand Slam tournaments he also placed among the top players.

Spieth is young and very popular. He is smart and can speak well. What’s more, he is close to his family and completely dedicated to his younger disabled sister. These are all attributes appreciated by his fans even outside the United States. Why would anyone not like him?

Spieth’s income this season is over $50 million. And there is no reason to think that it should be significantly different in the upcoming years. Spieth may become a man who might push out the boundaries of golf earnings.

Photo source: Jordan Spieth’s Instagram