Top Esports Player Could Earn $3.4M in Annual Prize Money by 2040

Key findings

• Money earned by the top 100 earners in esports is projected to top $80m in the next 15 years.
• The difference in prize money from 1998 to 2040 is projected to be an increase of over 55,000%.
• Between 2031 and 2040, the top 100 esports players are expected to earn over $800m in total.

The top 100 esports players are projected to earn prize money of up to $3.4m each per year in prize money by 2040 according to new research.

The projection, which was calculated by data experts at Vegas Insider, showed that if the current long-term trend is followed then between the years of 2031 and 2040, the top 100 earners in esports will have earned over $800m in prize money collectively.

By 2040, meanwhile, we can expect the total yearly prize winnings of the top 100 esports players to have increased by more than 55,000% when compared to 1998 – when data began being recorded.

The totals were calculated by working out the sum, average, maximum and minimum prize money earned by the top 100-ranked esports players between the years of 1998 and 2025. From there, it is possible to track how much they will earn over the next 15 years based on previous trends.

Total prize money: projected to reach $80.8m per year by 2040

The simple projection would show that by 2040, the total amount of money earned by the top 100 earning esports players could be as much as $80.8m. That represents a 55,047% increase from its value in 1998. So around 551 times the amount that the total top 100 esports players earned in 1998.

The total prize money earned by the top 100 esports players has grown dramatically since data was first recorded, rising from just $146,518 in 1998 to $24.3m in 2025, despite significant volatility along the way. Overall, this represents a 16,491% increase compared to the first recorded year.

By 2030, combined earnings are estimated to exceed $59m per year, before reaching $80.8m by 2040.

Average prize money: projected to approach $800,000+ per player

When it comes to the average amount that a top 100 earning esports player could win, this could be as much as $800,000. A huge difference in comparison to 1998, when the average was just $2,483.36, that’s a 32,420% increase.

Top earner: projected to reach $3.4m per year by 2040

The highest-earning esports player in 1998 took home just $18,853.83 in prize money. By 2025, that figure had risen to $1m, and based on long-term trends, it is projected to reach at least $3.4m by 2040. This represents a projected 17,965% increase in top prize earnings since the available data was first recorded.

Tournaments: prize pools and event volume have surged

At a tournament level, the mean prize pool has also grown substantially. In 1998, the average tournament prize pool stood at $13,982. By 2023, the latest year with complete data, this had increased to $49,946, a 257% rise.

In 1998, there were just 11 recorded esports tournaments. By 2023, that number had surged to 3,627 tournaments, representing a 32,872% increase.

Appendix

Total prize money for top 100 esports players by year Sum

Year	Sum
1998	$146,518.31
1999	$282,525.73
2000	$651,569.84
2001	$728,459.77
2002	$725,665.92
2003	$1,221,463.62
2004	$1,655,640.18
2005	$2,508,108.58
2006	$3,012,818.65
2007	$3,625,482.98
2008	$3,524,710.61
2009	$1,961,196.57
2010	$2,976,086.44
2011	$5,437,480.49
2012	$7,058,366.19
2013	$9,571,291.49
2014	$19,410,291.07
2015	$32,940,028.75
2016	$40,761,652.15
2017	$45,050,859.32
2018	$51,525,303.96
2019	$73,555,877.73
2020	$21,712,033.89
2021	$62,860,785.16
2022	$46,355,864.10
2023	$43,024,456.39
2024	$37,389,305.50
2025	$24,308,945.09
2026	$50,652,735.04
2027	$52,806,168.02
2028	$54,959,601.01
2029	$57,113,034.00
2030	$59,266,466.98
2031	$61,419,899.97
2032	$63,573,332.96
2033	$65,726,765.94
2034	$67,880,198.93
2035	$70,033,631.92
2036	$72,187,064.90
2037	$74,340,497.89
2038	$76,493,930.87
2039	$78,647,363.86
2040	$80,800,796.85

Average prize money for top 100 esports players by year Avg

Year	Avg
1998	$2,483.36
1999	$4,280.69
2000	$6,515.70
2001	$7,284.60
2002	$7,256.66
2003	$12,214.64
2004	$16,556.40
2005	$25,081.09
2006	$30,128.19
2007	$36,254.83
2008	$35,247.11
2009	$19,611.97
2010	$29,760.86
2011	$54,374.80
2012	$70,583.66
2013	$95,712.91
2014	$194,102.91
2015	$329,400.29
2016	$407,616.52
2017	$450,508.59
2018	$515,253.04
2019	$735,558.78
2020	$217,120.34
2021	$628,607.85
2022	$463,558.64
2023	$430,244.56
2024	$373,893.05
2025	$243,089.45
2026	$506,362.21
2027	$527,879.06
2028	$549,395.91
2029	$570,912.76
2030	$592,429.61
2031	$613,946.46
2032	$635,463.31
2033	$656,980.15
2034	$678,497.00
2035	$700,013.85
2036	$721,530.70
2037	$743,047.55
2038	$764,564.40
2039	$786,081.25
2040	$807,598.09

Maximum prize money for top 100 esports players by year Max

Year	Max
1998	$18,853.83
1999	$50,143.16
2000	$95,246.25
2001	$63,180.38
2002	$32,575.47
2003	$34,767.03
2004	$130,119.65
2005	$231,661.39
2006	$115,242.47
2007	$176,296.45
2008	$135,702.38
2009	$86,512.65
2010	$196,744.50
2011	$258,469.83
2012	$218,844.59
2013	$321,906.50
2014	$1,115,465.64
2015	$1,735,036.85
2016	$1,929,184.12
2017	$2,443,749.28
2018	$2,297,190.06
2019	$3,172,593.93
2020	$512,048.41
2021	$3,707,236.56
2022	$1,783,357.07
2023	$1,418,522.27
2024	$1,004,343.59
2025	$1,002,863.16
2026	$2,158,967.86
2027	$2,248,039.89
2028	$2,337,111.91
2029	$2,426,183.94
2030	$2,515,255.97
2031	$2,604,327.99
2032	$2,693,400.02
2033	$2,782,472.04
2034	$2,871,544.07
2035	$2,960,616.10
2036	$3,049,688.12
2037	$3,138,760.15
2038	$3,227,832.18
2039	$3,316,904.20
2040	$3,405,976.23

Minimum prize money for top 100 esports players by year Min

Year	Min
1998	$100.29
1999	$200.57
2000	$620.85
2001	$1,755.81
2002	$2,507.16
2003	$4,763.12
2004	$7,822.33
2005	$10,028.63
2006	$15,076.37
2007	$15,007.09
2008	$16,747.81
2009	$8,808.13
2010	$12,579.71
2011	$19,828.53
2012	$25,071.58
2013	$36,439.34
2014	$58,834.89
2015	$104,138.04
2016	$142,933.07
2017	$178,875.57
2018	$203,878.95
2019	$268,892.69
2020	$125,357.90
2021	$272,658.44
2022	$260,217.92
2023	$238,012.85
2024	$229,730.88
2025	$156,646.29
2026	$238,577.15
2027	$249,076.22
2028	$259,575.30
2029	$270,074.38
2030	$280,573.46
2031	$291,072.53
2032	$301,571.61
2033	$312,070.69
2034	$322,569.76
2035	$333,068.84
2036	$343,567.92
2037	$354,066.99
2038	$364,566.07
2039	$375,065.15
2040	$385,564.23

Methodology

Data was collected from esportsearnings.com, which contains the top 100 earning Esports players earnings from 1998 to 2025. This was broken down then by year into 4 different tables, all of which can be found in the Appendix. These were:

• Sum – Shows the sum of how much all top 100 Esports players earned combined in those years.
• Avg – Shows the average of how much all top 100 Esports players earned in those years.
• Max – Shows the maximum of how much all top 100 Esports players earned in those years (how much the player ranked first earned).
• Min – Shows the minimum of how much all top 100 Esports players earned in those years (how much the player ranked 100th earned).

For each metric, we fitted a linear regression (metric ~ Year) on the historical data, then used that trend to predict values for every year up to 2040. The regression supplies 2026–2040, assuming a continuous timeline with straight-line growth.

Also to note that these Earnings are Prize winnings and do not include player salaries, which are a common occurrence in modern times.

Sources

All data: Esports Earnings