How much are sumo wrestlers paid?

[@Verklompen]

Now I understand one reason why the Yokozuna council gets so frustrated at any stagnant Yokozuna. 30k a month... that's pretty nice. This is a great video Chris!

[@t3tsubo]

I mean that's still nothing compared to an injured professional athlete in the NBA/NFL/MLB

[@francisdayon]

@@t3tsubo The scale of the sport is different. A more interesting comparison would be how those amount differ from other Japanese sports league like the basketball and baseball leagues in Japan. I'm of the opinion that the werestlers are paid higher but could be very close though.

[@vlada]

@@francisdayon just Googled baseball in japan: Dec 17, 2021 FUKUOKA - Fukuoka Softbank Hawks outfielder Yuki Yanagita agreed to a ¥620 million ($5.46 million) annual salary for the 2022 season on Friday, which will make him the highest-paid position player in NPB history. Yanagita, who banked ¥610 million last season to equal the record held by outfielder Hideki Matsui, will be in the third year of a seven-year contract with the Pacific League club that also includes performance incentives. Soccer J league (top 10 earners were all foreigners, mainly Brazil): In 2020, Valdo made £49,868,000 per year playing for Shimizu Pulse. 2Nd was John Mary £7,280,000 for Avispa Fukuoka 3rd was Diego Pituca 2,756,000 Kashima Antlers. 4th was Lincoln £1,196,000 VisselKobe 5th was Ewerton £676,000 Urawa Red Diamonds 6th Pedro Raul £468,000 Kashiwa Reysol 7th Erik £327,600Yokohama F Marinos

[@lloydreggie]

@@vlada False! Those numbers are in Yen. Checked it out! It's barely $400k/yr give or take for Valdo!

[@Grrrrrgfifj]

@@t3tsubo Such an American thing to compare it to NBA/MLB/NFL 😂

[@Tomoesong]

Compared to Japan, Mongolia's living cost is so much cheaper. Workforce , materials , food etc. That's why when mongolian sumo wrestlers retire and come back to mongolia they are multi billionaires by mongolian currency. They become bussinesmen. When Harumafuji came back he built bunch of private schools , and Kyokushyuzan built whole apartment complexes for profit. Asashoryu bought bunch of already built buildings including Central Circus building of Mongolia.

[@tehh329]

of course they are freakin Yokozunas

[@lipstickzombie4981]

@@tehh329 Kyokushuzan only made komusubi though.

[@dogestranding5047]

Dosho! Dosho!

[@BAGPULAINTAT]

He build those by paying hardworking men’s pennies pfff

[@carlomariamizzi8387]

@@dickrichard626 kinda easy to understand. It is not an "illusion", it is a "convention", it holds no value by itself, it have the value we collectively agree to give it. If you live in the US, the convention there is that 3000 dollars is a fair pay for a certain job (because of the logic of demand/offer and because of competition). For the same job, following the same rules, you'll be paid much more in Norway (deman/offer and competition). Even inthe same country money have different values. In Italy 1 euro is 1 euro, but you can buy much more with 1 euro in southern Italy than in Northern italy (demand/offer and competition again), and salaries are much lower there, even with the same currency.

[@Nuvem_AV582]

I had no idea that the salary gap between divions 3 and 2 was so big, no wonder why wrestlers fight so hard be there and to stay there.

[@td370]

Really not too different from Professional and amateur boxers. Huge pay gap.

[@jesusthroughmary]

There is no salary below division 2

[@soultouch08]

yeah allowance comes from the stables while salary comes from jsa

[@austn8675]

@@td370 amateur boxers dont get paid at all lol

[@erak8956]

@@td370 Boxing structure is totally different, doesn't seem comparable at all

[@chrissumo69]

EXTRA POINT: Have just poured through some more pages of info, and apparently wrestlers in divisions 3-6 are part of a separate incentive pay system. Briefly: wrestlers in divisions 6 and 5 get $15 per win, plus $35 for every point left over after "wins minus losses" (for example, 4-3 = $35, 5-2 = $105). For division 4, the incentives rise to $20 and $45, and for division 3, $25 and $60. This seems to be paid out each tournament - it is not cumulative. A useful boost to the regular allowance!

[@BIGJATPSU]

The back half of the video was basically the Mochikyukin system correct? I find the complexity of the system utterly staggering.

[@mavericx5206]

could you make a vid on how exactly elder stock works?

[@noahstrassels6099]

Do the wrestlers get the promotion bonus more than once if they are demoted and then they are promoted at a later time?

[@BIGJATPSU]

@@mavericx5206 THIS! ☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻

[@BazzaBeeBenson]

So with the 'incentive pay' which is unlocked when reaching Juryo, do they receive this every tournament they compete in from then on regardless of division or only for those tournaments in top 2 divs?

[@MikeTampa]

I would love an example of one of Hakuho's most successful years. That was a lot of different avenues to earn with rank, salary, bonuses, incentives, etc

[@westernzoo3344]

Being the best ever with the most wins, 44 turnaments, and everything else, I think he earned in his lifetime the same amount as does Ronaldo every 5 seconds.

[@OnionAddiction]

I'd imagine that's be ~2m bux a successful year. Hak's filthy rich.

[@thekinarbo]

@@westernzoo3344 By way of comparison, here's the highest paid Japanese baseball player, Yuki Yanagita, $5.46 mil/year. "Fukuoka Softbank Hawks outfielder Yuki Yanagita agreed to a ¥620 million ($5.46 million) annual salary for the 2022 season on Friday, which will make him the highest-paid position player in NPB history."

[@Speedy.V]

This is a very very very informative video. Thanks

[@oBuLLzEyEo1013]

New topic for the channel is a welcome one...

[@kingrama2727]

Enho is making bank with all those commercials and stuff….

[@damnright1968]

And still not even close to real fighting sports.

[@wiibbz]

@@damnright1968 real?

[@famaccount479]

@@damnright1968 You meaning Wrstling from USA, right? xDDD

[@---Blue]

@@damnright1968 absolutely amazing ROI

[@fredsmith-kingofthelunatic7810]

Being treated like royalty must also be a nice little bonus. It was just phenomenal to see this in person. As an Aussie sports nut I had an absolute ball being there. Amazing country, amazing people, amazing sport.

[@loboderhund8935]

Chris you are the best! No one has been this informative on the salary topic. Thank you!

[@cinimatics]

If I could live in a dojo and get room and board and make a few hundred bucks a month in exchange for competing a few times a year I'd be one happy camper.

[@MarsofAritia]

why do you think shonanzakura is still around lol

[@cinimatics]

@@MarsofAritia I need a karate or judo version of this though. I'm smaller than Enho 😆

[@revolutionhk]

how about the extreme training and life style and eating habits which probably shorten your lifespan to 50 years

[@MarsofAritia]

@@revolutionhk not in shikihiide lol

[@jackwang660]

And you’ll be a cheap labor for your heya, it’s not like you own your time.

[@ArthurCrimson]

Love these informative videos speaking about the inner aspects of sumo, Keep ‘em coming! Thank you so much for the insight, Chris!

[@rmv500]

As a new fan of sumo this info was very helpful! I was struggling to understand that there was a base pay structure in addition the the presented envelopes. Thank you for this and your other content!

[@karelmarais8897]

Thanks for another great video. You refer to Hakuho's business interests, maybe a video about current sumo wrestlers business interests would be a grest theme between basho's?

[@MarsofAritia]

always struggled to wrap my head around the mochikyukin system, good explanation. how about the pay for gyoji and yobidashi? I assume they have some kind of rank based payment system too.

[@PujDK]

Would you be doing a follow up video how stables are paid? If they make money only from patrons and maybe sponsorship deals or if there is a system of "forced gratefulnes" applied towards rikishi on salaried level cutting like 20% off their pay for benefit of stable. Or if they get something for if their rikishi wins / gets promoted to salaried level

[@MrTandtrollet]

This is what I want to know, the economics of Sumo is still hard to understand without this.

[@Kittenz-uq1uq]

Damn, 11000 per month in Juryo? I mean, I was expecting something like that... but wow! That's upward of 6 figures a year!

[@Mitjitsu]

It's still very hard to get there. Anyone who makes it to Makuuchi can consider himself having a successful career.

[@Kittenz-uq1uq]

@@Mitjitsu Indeed, whenever I watch Top Division bouts and see anyone doing poorly... I always remind myself that just having made it into Makuuchi is the achievement of a lifetime already.

[@Mitjitsu]

@@Kittenz-uq1uq Hard work can only take you so far. Once you try to make a push for the sanyaku ranks and beyond you need a degree of natural ability and genetics on your side. That's why I always mocked people who claimed Enho or Ura was going to become an Ozeki/Yokozuna one day.

[@Kittenz-uq1uq]

@@Mitjitsu Yeah, that's for sure. Hard work and dedication can take you to Makuuchi, but like you said, to get to those high ranks you really need genetics on your side. Not every Rikishi can be a Hakuho, after all! In my opinion, a lot of it comes down to natural body type. Folks like Terunofuji for example have the perfect body for doing what they do, and are very hard to counter because of that. But if say, Takakeisho decided to become a Mawashi fighter... mmmmmmm nah. Wouldn't end well. Much of Sumo is what each Rikishi is able to do with their natural gifts, and when every Rikishi works just as hard, natural advantages are the only thing that can elevate the Ozeki material above the rest.

[@jamisonr]

It's 132k a year, similar to what senior software developers make as a base salary. What makes it nice for the Rikishi is that it is in addition to room and board. I get no such luck!

[@mrpopenfresh]

Chris, it would be great to clarify what kind of cut the stable gets from their salaried fighters.

[@jesusthroughmary]

I don't think the Association pays anything to the stable for sekitori.

[@gasbulla8141]

Wow. Very informative, thanks. Do the wrestlers give a portion/percentage of these cash payouts to their stable? Like how boxers or mma fighters pay a percentage to their agent or coach/team.

[@MrTandtrollet]

This is what I want to know, the economics of Sumo is still hard to understand without this.

[@AleksanteriR]

They actually do but what I've understood is that it mainly takes place from those envelopes they receive after wins i.e stable keeps some of it. Also it's not uncommon for a tournament to have some other special prizes such as beef or pork supply for a year which i'd imagine helps with the stable running expenses

[@leetracey9152]

Thanks Chris for the great info. Some aspects it got me thinking about. 1. It is very hard these days to conceive of Ichinojo getting ONE kinboshi let alone 8, 2. Given the vast drop in income alone I am further staggered by the determination of Terunofuji, Tochinoshin and Ura in not chucking it in at the bottom of their respective falls down the ranking charts 3. Talking of Terunofuji did he get a second bonus on achieving Ozeki rank again? Do any rikishi get it if they fail to bounce straight back under Kadoban conditions. 4. Given prize money was the same(big assumption I know) Hakuho won the equivalent of $900K over the two years 2013/14 - in Emperor Cup bonuses alone

[@ryanw2032]

The lower division/upper division break seems like the minor/major league system in baseball, or the college/pro system in American football. The only thing I saw that I would consider to be unfair, is withholding the incentive bonuses for the lower ranks. If you earn your incentive pay, you should get your incentive pay.

[@terencebennison6275]

Don't care how much they get! Whatever the total fees are, the Rikishi certainly earn it!

[@Archy513]

Very interesting, my favorite bits where how much the envelope was worth! :)

[@darkmido6087]

You deserve alot more sups man. Just wanted to say that.

[@Tacosandwiches1997]

Love your channel! Thanks for shedding light on this subject! Super informative.

[@hvalleydude922]

Brilliant reporting as usual, Chris! Super informative.

[@Slammer_1970]

This was a very informative video. I've been wondering what they get paid, but never really looked into before. Thanks for the video Chris.

[@lisajkalm]

Very eye opening. Thx for the info...I always wondered about those envelopes.

[@Mitjitsu]

There's a reason why the likes of Tochinoshin say they'll retire when they get relegated from Juryo. Also, I thought Yokozuna earned 40k per month, but I imagine they earn a great deal more than that when you factor in the amount of envelopes they win from bouts, prizes, sponsorship and appearances fees elsewhere. It's safe to say Hakhuho probably makes $2m+ a year.

[@jamisonr]

Remember that exchange rate will change those USD values.

[@glenanderson6164]

Really interesting video thanks Chris, appreciate the info and insight

[@fifthbusiness1678]

Thanks for posting this info ... I’ve often wondered!

[@donnajohansen4994]

With the way they have to train to progress up through the ranks, the effort they have to constantly put in, and the restriction placed on them, I have no problem with them getting the pay they're getting at the top divisions. Would be nice for some of the juniors to get more, but I guess that's the incentive. It's a shame there isn't more yokazuna time to allow some of the maegashira to earn the gold stars.

[@nicknazarchyk907]

Very informative. Thank you for doing the research.

[@YouLookLikeAMfUhhhhh]

Excellent insight as always Chris!

[@helston7262]

Brilliant video thanks Chris

[@MixedBag27]

Thank you very, very much for this video. I had no idea about all the different types of pay.

[@Horatiification]

Good content as always man! I'm glad i subscribed!

[@kenstar1862]

You are real good at your craft

[@ConanVictor]

Always wanted to know about payments. Great video, thank you very much.

[@badfelix007]

wow, I have looked for that information for a while. Thank you so much!!

[@glemmstengal]

Wow.. $100,00 for Emperor's Cup. It's nice to see all of this laid out.

[@ldcldc6371]

Sad to think the pinnacle of sumo earnings pale in comparison to football for example. 4 million would be no more than a monthly salary for some top players.

[@patdwyer6274]

They deserve every penny I reckon. Great video.

[@F3udF1st]

Certainly not.

[@ValentinG23]

very good video and information that you don’t see out there!!!

[@dime4026]

This is going to make a heap of views

[@pingislife2653]

Thank you for this very interesting insight. Very informative.

[@khaled3433]

A bencher in the baseball japanese league is paid more than the Yokuzuna like 3 or 4 times, what a shame

[@johnmolinari2384]

There are more paying customers in baseball, games played vs sumo matches.

[@makrockatansky7585]

Just like the NBA/WNBA salary debate, it’s all about the paying customers.

[@joshuapatrick682]

300,000 annual base pay for Ozeki and probably 2 times that once you factor incentives, bonuses and “patronage”. I’d say the popular fighters at the top are making 7 figures a year pretty comfortably.

[@butchbinion1560]

Very informative thank you. ✌️👊

[@honey-fe6pj]

Monthly salaries in GBP. Yokozuna = 21,500 quid Ozeki = 18,000 quid Komusubi and Sekiwaki= 13,000 quid Division 1 = 10,000 quid Division 2 = 7900 quid Division 3 = 600 quid Division 4 = 400 quid Division 4 = 315 quid Division 6= 275 quid

[@emrebennett2857]

aRe YoU bRiTiSh?

[@emrebennett2857]

Jokes aside - thanks for the conversion.. I was just assuming the $ - £ is 1:1 due to how much the pound has gone down the shitter.. but there is a considerable difference it seems

[@honey-fe6pj]

@@emrebennett2857 Always will be as its 1st world currency ( £) vs 3rd world... ;)

[@cheetonips6399]

Complete commitment comes with amazing rewards, for all the toll it takes on the body and the time it demands, sumo is still a very profitable endeavor even more to those who come from not so great situations where options are few and far between

[@academicianprokhorzakharov4009]

Thank you! Really interesting.

[@mobilemarshall]

Thanks for this video, one of the most asked questions.

[@Chalexmack]

Awesome, thanks Chris! I have always wondered how much the salary was for each division.

[@robdobson5056]

Excellent video

[@stealthassasin1day291]

Big boys getting that money in the top ranks...

[@zflynn2]

Great breakdown of the money made.

[@HighChancellorAdam]

Thank you for all the research. I always wondered about sumo pay. I wonder why you think the big division 2/3 pay gap results in defensive sumo? Surely, a rikishi wants to win EVERY bout and if fighting defensively improves their chances, won't they fight that way every time?

[@相川-r6e]

Yokozuna is often on the TV commercial and they get about 5 hundred thousand dollars per one commercial.

[@johnmolinari2384]

It’s a pretty good deal for the rikishi from Mongolia and east European countries where cost of living is low when they retire. That’s why they hang on as long as they can.

[@dond2807]

Loved this one!

[@khaled3433]

Can someone explain the incentive pay i didn't understand ?

[@emp100k]

Certainly not millions of dollars a years contracts like in the big western sports, but still some of these guys have mad a lot of money...

[@ivoplsek]

great video!

[@mavericx5206]

Could you explain what exactly elder stock is and how it works? its mentioned in every 2. video but its nowhere explained properly. you need it to coach and you can buy it somehow? thats all i know

[@macsysdesign]

I would really like to see a video on this. The system changed back in 2011, but it is not clear to me how the new system works, that may of course be intentional by the JSA! How much control is exercised by the JSA over who is allowed to buy Kabu? I imagine it is now very political!

[@catalinegreanu]

As always, Chris is THE BEST OF THE BEST when it comes to covering sumo and all its incredible details... THANK YOU, SIR!!!!

[@joegrills9458]

This some good stuff. Thanks man

[@repotip1]

I wonder if they're bullied into giving a part of their salaries and prize money to their stables

[@BRunoAWAY]

They even make sexual favours for the stable Master 😰😰🤣

[@PujDK]

whole financing of stables would be interesting topic for next video, I would expect that majority is from patrons / sponsorship and perhaps merch but are there any other streams like this "taxation" you mention or if they are also making something for every salaried rikishi they have or something

[@lucretius123]

can you talk about daily life in the stable? entertainment, time off to visit family, girlfriends/wives?

[@thekinarbo]

Isn't the lack of TV ad revenue a reason why wrestlers aren't paid more? Isn't the only ad revenue generated by the guys walking around the dohyo with banners before the top ranked wrestlers get it on? I think I saw a video that said NHK doesn't allow commercial advertisements.

[@patrickbraz9449]

Ialways wanted to know what package was that the rikishi receives when they win a bout. Now I know, thanks to Cris. Arigato gozaimasu 🙏

[@scootscootriot1020]

Great information to know. I always wanted to know how much those guys make.

[@michaelcorcoran73]

Great report Chris! Good to see your subscription numbers advancing steadily.

[@ZogXll]

Awesome video

[@Nico-kd7uz]

Really interesting video. Does the ritual bow guy gets an extra? Also the 2 attendants on the yokozuna entering ceremony do they get an extra too?

[@mikestang679]

Where does the bulk of the money come from, the gate charge?

[@ShyTentacle]

Say what you will, there's decent money in sumo.

[@MarsofAritia]

only at the top

[@ryanw2032]

@@MarsofAritia Just like every sport.

[@Sphere723]

I mean, the minimum salary in MLB is higher than what a Yokozuna gets paid. So in comparison no, sumo doesn't pay.

[@grantgibson480]

Very interesting.. There may be scope for someone to hover around the top of division 2, winning occasionally could make it better than hanging out mid top division

[@revolutionhk]

remember the two years after Kisenosato made yokozuna but unable to compete did to injury JSA still need to pay him boatload of cash and he randomly compete and handout gold stars then withdraw they must have conflicted feelings since he was the Japan born yokozuna everyone was waiting for, but on the other hand he was doing an excellent job on spending their money

[@ZenTeaNow]

This is educational. Thank you.

[@Nickxis]

those are bigger numbers than I expected

[@davidchristensen9645]

Does anyone know if Sumo is included in the Tokyo Olympics and if so did Hakuho make it ?

[@alexpozniak4106]

Good info video.

[@samil5601]

Great video. Taking snapshots of rikishi career resorts on Wikipedia, I see a lot of wrestlers who hang on in the lower, unsalaried divisions for years with no obvious financial reason, apart from hoping to make it to the top one day. Any insight on the motive for this? Is there are pension scheme or other organisational arrangements in place for these fighters or do they just drop out to nothing at the end of their careers?

[@bluedevil7250]

There is nothing for them you see them often working in restaurants or the smarter ones become coaches in schools but thats it.

[@jamespires3383]

Chris is there anyway to watch the upcoming basho online?

[@Puuuurrrr]

Mbovo and Karla_sumoist streams the basho live on twitch! twitch.tv/mbovosumo twitch.tv/karla_sumoist

[@jamespires3383]

@@Puuuurrrr hey thanks! Excited to watch live sumo for the first time 😃

[@Puuuurrrr]

@@jamespires3383 eeeeekkk I’m so excited for you!!! My first one was just the last tournament in March. It was so exciting and there was so much to take in hope you have a great experience!!

[@Chuklz70]

True pyramid structure considering of the 500 competitors there are, the most in the lower ranks and at the top it narrows less than ... actually I don’t know, what year saw the most Ozeki? I was always of the mind there were 2 but just read that there have been more.

[@samil5601]

I think the most was six ozeki at a time in the eighties.

[@IDBTitanosaurus]

Let's back up for a moment. What's with the jump from Div 3 to Div 2? That growth is logarithmic...

[@leondavidmunozlozano7973]

Soooo...every sumo wrestler get paid? I tought it was only something for the top division rikishis

[@AnvilMAn603]

the sekitori (juryo and makuuchi) get a salary, below that they get an allowance

[@lipstickzombie4981]

As Chris has said, it's basically pocket money. There's a reason why most non-sekitori rikishi stay in the heya than live away from it. And living in Japan can get expensive quick especially in cities. Most heyas are in Tokyo or in one of its suburbs.

[@AnvilMAn603]

@@lipstickzombie4981 just pointing out the difference between an allowance and a salary, also i think its that you cant live away from the heya until you reach sekitori

[@ryanw2032]

@@lipstickzombie4981 It's my understanding that the wrestlers are given room and board at no charge. Is this correct? If so, it's a much better deal than it may sound on the surface.

[@lipstickzombie4981]

@@ryanw2032 Yep the wrestlers have free room and food at the heya.

[@MultiTictock]

and the Sumo elders debate why foreign born wrestlers are an issue. its because Japanese born have less reason to fight, mongolians want to send money home. They work hard because living in Japan is a better life. Japanese wrestlers work for glory - but had to abide by strict rules of the stable. No social life to keep them going, its hard to create fire in those rikishi. What do you think?

[@SpaceAnimalGaming]

8:02 Did you just say "E, T, C" instead of "et cetera"? Is that normal? I don't think I've ever heard someone say it like that. I know this is a weird thing to pick out from this excellent and informative video, but it raised my eyebrow, so I had to see if this was common in other places.

[@Puuuurrrr]

Haha I’ve heard people say the letters out individually though it is unnatural in normal contexts.

[@nirvanahk]

living in east asia, it's quite common to say like this.

[@EpicVideoMaster11]

Thank you for this video

[@fmni1]

I like how the rate between division 3-6 is like, yea this is at a normal rate per division. Then at Division 2 it jumped by like 10k per month.

[@joepeters8746]

Just for reference, 515,000 JPY or 4000 Dollar is the average pay in Japan. Considering top football players get payed millions

[@bledrunner7021]

avec vanced kit, vous pouvez obtenir youtube sans pub sur téléphone, merci vanced kit =)

[@Idtelos]

So we can safely say Hakuho has made over $20 mil easily.

[@stargazer4683]

Thank you sir !

[@J007-j5o]

I hope hakuho is a “multi multi millionaire.” He’s the best ever, he deserves that and more.

Do they have to pay tax after 500 usd at the buttom of the ranking?

[@orryvanvaerenbergh6126]

They deserve it. Cool video!

[@dominikreim7723]

Ok, I will quit Salaryman and try to become Ozeki : D

[@masterbedroom594]

If you try to become an engineer or software developer it will do you good. And will keep you much healthier.

[@bayarea6766]

Well I suggest you head to the nearest buffet and stay there for next two months lol

[@Jonathan.D]

It sounds like a lot. However, think about how much a sports pro makes in the US and it doesn't compair. Plus, add in all the damage they do themselves, and then it really doesn't seem worth it. It takes true dedication to make it as a Sumo.

[@leaverus]

So they have endorsement deals outside of the dohyo? I think I read somewhere that Hakuho's net worth is around $80M?? Thnx for this, Chris.