How Much Are USA Ryder Cup Players Being Paid?

The topic of pay at the Ryder Cup has been woven into the fabric of the biennial team competition for several decades now, with reports of players in years gone by apparently keen to see their contribution to one of the world's most famous sporting events financially rewarded.

Up until the mid-1990s, no one involved in the Ryder Cup saw a penny directly passed on. Although, that changed in 1999 - prior to Brookline - when it was confirmed that a $200,000 charitable donation, half of which went to a college golf program, would be made on behalf of each American representative.

Still, noises surrounding pay continued to pop up with increasing regularity, and the subject was then thrust firmly into the limelight once again during the 2023 Ryder Cup when Patrick Cantlay's lack of hat made him - whether he liked it or not - the leading figure among the media in the call for players to be paid.

Fast forward over a year later and those calls were eventually answered with an emphatic 'yes' by the PGA of America, although the stance on the opposite side of the pond remained firmly at the opposite end of the scale.

Regardless, in December 2024, the PGA of America announced a package of half a million dollars would be given to each of the 12 golfers and captain, Keegan Bradley at Bethpage Black.

The majority of that - $300,000 - would be donated to a charity of the pro's choice while $200,000 was marked officially as a stipend, allowing the golfer to do whatever he pleased with it.

Captain Bradley and player, Xander Schauffele are among those who confirmed they would be donating the entire sum to good causes, and that is expected to be the path many - if not all - of the Californian's teammates follow.

Discussing the topic in the days leading up to the 2025 Ryder Cup, Bradley defended the scrutiny placed upon his team after the call was made and reiterated their use of the increased cash.

He said: “Well, the PGA of America came to me, they wanted to bring the Ryder Cup into the present day. The charity dollars hadn't changed since 1999 and they asked me to sort of shepherd their way into making it into 2025.

“I think for everyone it's a personal decision. A lot of guys aren't comfortable sharing what they're going to do with their money, but we're going to donate."

In a letter announcing the news at the back end of 2024, PGA of America president Don Rea said: "The players and captains, past and present, are responsible for the Ryder Cup becoming the most special competition in golf and one of the most in-demand events on the international sports scene.

"... Golf is a long-established vehicle for good and it's exciting to imagine the impact the members of the 2025 US Ryder Cup team will deliver for worthy causes and communities across the country, including the many initiatives that support the growth of the game."

As it stands, all players in the Ryder Cup have their expenses covered by either the PGA of America or the DP World Tour, and it will remain that way despite the recently introduced $200,000 stipend for US golfers.

Rea added: "We added the $200,000 stipend out of respect for the players ... so the players could have a say in where the money goes."

In contrast, Europe's Rory McIlroy insisted he would "pay to play" in the Ryder Cup - such is the pride that the event brings him.

Speaking to BBC Sport in November 2024, the career Grand Slam champion said: "I personally would pay for the privilege to play in the Ryder Cup.

"The two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the Ryder Cup and the Olympics, and it's partly because of the purity of no money being involved."

Captain Luke Donald was another to express how differently the European team sees the concept of earning money from the biennial team competition, with none of the 12 who represented the home side in 2023 apparently calling for some kind of financial reward.

Speaking to Sky Sports in New York, Donald shared: "This came up and I wanted to get ahead of it, and talked to the 12 guys in Rome when it looked like the US were going to do something different with payments. Every one of them was like 'No we don't want to get paid, this isn't a week to get paid.'

"We have such strong purpose in this team and what we play for, and to be honest we reinvest some of that money back into the experience of these guys.

"I feel like if you have those experiences that you remember for the rest of your life, that's worth more than a couple hundred thousand dollars in the back of your pocket."

An important note of difference in how each side views the subject of pay at the Ryder Cup involves how the finances are shared between tours.

The DP World Tour has a share in Ryder Cup Europe and benefits greatly from the vast sums which are generated on its patch every four years. On the flip side, the PGA of America runs the US-based Ryder Cup and pays a fifth of its broadcast revenue to the PGA Tour, which is consequently passed on into the circuit's general operating budget.

Ultimately, the pattern of USA Ryder Cup players being paid is set to continue while it appears as though their European counterparts will not be following suit for the time being.