When Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright pinned the double 16 that would land him his second world title at the start of the year, it also banked him a tasty £500,000.00.
It also meant he creeps closer to the summit of the PDC Order of Merit, a position currently occupied by Gerwyn Price.
But that made us wonder, where does Snakebite feature on the top richest darters of all time?
Despite its popularity, darts is not a game flowing with cash, although money in the game is on the up, with the World Championships boasting a prize pool of a cool £2.5 million and Premier League Darts also now getting a boosted purse.
BONUS CODE: BET247
Get up to €100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365 Bet365 Review
Goat Not Number One
What all of the above means is that despite being the most successful darts player of all time, Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor is not the highest earner the game has ever seen.
In fact, that honour goes to Michael van Gerwen, who is the highest-paid darts player of all time ahead of the legendary Phil Taylor.
2022 PDC World Darts Championship winner Peter Wright comes home third.
The 32-year-old Dutch star, who is currently ranked third in the world, has been World Darts Champion on three occasions during his astonishing career, albeit one that has tailed off in recent years.
Has MVG lost it, or have others – Wright and Price in particular – simply caught up talent and skill-wise?
I suspect it is the latter, but at 52 years of age, time may be working against Wright to overtake MVG on this particular list.
With Price still being in his 30s, there is a huge possibility that he will appear higher in a few years’ time.
The Iceman banked his maiden PDC World Championship title in 2021 after beating Gary Anderson 7-3 in the final at the Alexandra Palace in London.
Currently, the 36-year-old Welshman comes home eighth in the highest earners of the game, courtesy of his £2.2 million in earnings.
Mighty Mike Missing At The Ally Pally
Mighty Mike wasn’t helped in his quest to further enhance his pot by his inability to compete at the latest edition of the Worlds at the Ally Pally.
Van Gerwen had been scheduled to take on Chris Dobey in a third-round match but was forced to withdraw from the tournament after he returned a positive test for coronavirus.
From 2014 to 2021, Mighty Mike was virtually untouchable as he remained in the world’s number one spot right up until Gerwyn ‘The Iceman’ Price overtook him at the top following his own Ally Pally victory.
It seems that MVG has compiled a pretty decent £8.5 million in earnings.
Van Gerwen’s winnings put him ahead of darts legend The Power, who is ranked second with his own £7.6 million in winnings.
Taylor, 61, famously won a record 16 world titles, albeit two with the BDO, and is widely accepted to be the greatest darts player ever.
Reaching the final in his last ever World Championship appearance, the Stoke-born legend finally called time on his career following a defeat to Rob Cross in 2019.
How Much Do Darts Players Make? The Darts Top Ten Earners Ever
Not taking into account, merchandise sales and other endorsements, below are the top ten earners at the oche of all time.
1 – Michael van Gerwen (£8,571,167)
Three times world champ Mighty Michael van Gerwen, aka the Green Machine, has established a nice £8.5 million in career earnings thanks to a stunning run of form which lasted for over six years in which he was extremely dominant.
2 – Phil Taylor (£7,634,754)
Had The Power’s relentless period of form been in more recent times, Phil Taylor career earnings would surely top the list. He is unquestionably the finest, and most successful, darter there has ever been and perhaps ever will be.
3 – Gary Anderson (£4,358,772)
Anderson is a two-time world champion and has finished in the top two in every single PDC major, winning many of them along the way, which is where his wealth comes from. Gary Anderson career winnings now total over £4 million.
4 – Peter Wright (£3,609,888)
Colourful Snakebite took a while to win his first ever PDC major but hasn’t looked back since then as the former tyre fitter returned to darts and is now a two-time world champion and one-time World Darts Matchplay winner too. Peter Wright career earnings? Now £3,609,888.
5 – James Wade (£3,578,893)
The Machine has every reason to feel undervalued in the world of darts, after all he is one of the most successful darters of all time and one of the richest too.
6 – Raymond van Barneveld (£3,510,128)
Every one loves Barney and this five times world champion (four with the BDO) ranks fifth in the cash league with just north of £3.5 million in winnings.
7 – Adrian Lewis (£3,187,643)
It’s easy to forget that Jackpot is a two time world champion as he has been off the boil for so long now, but at least he has £3 million plus in winnings to help cheer him up.
8 – Gerwyn Price (£2,292,803)
There is so much more to come from this fella that he wont be at number seven for very long and is a dead cert to be in the top five before at the very least in no time at all.
9 – Simon Whitlock (£2,229,499)
With only one PDC title to his name, it’s a surprise to see the Aussie make the list but then he does claim to be the Wizard after all.
10 – Dave Chisnall (£2,043,415)
Still, without a PDC win, popular Chizzy’s consistency has seen him pocket a cool £2 million.
How about active darts money list?
Fortunately for darts fans, many of the top darts players of all time are still playing. Of course, the great Phil Taylor retired in 2018, which has allowed some of the newer generation of darters to gain some ground. With the retirement of Raymond van Barneveld in 2019, eight of the top ten darts earnings are still active.
The PDC Order Of Merit
We know the top all-time leaders and the active earners, but what darts players are the hottest — darters who are earning the most money recently?
For these players, there is a convenient rankings system, the PDC Order of Merit, which details the amount earners by darters over the last two years. Not only do the players on the PDC Order or Merit signify the recent best of the best, the leaderboard is also used to determine who can participate in events such as World Darts Championship, World Matchplay and World Grand Prix events.
Updated as of the 3rd of March, 2022
| Position | Player | Amount Earned Over Last 2 Years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Wright | £1,210,500 |
| 2 | Gerwyn Price | £1,191,250 |
| 3 | Michael van Gerwen | £663,500 |
| 4 | Michael Smith | £608,000 |
| 5 | James Wade | £580,500 |
| 6 | Gary Anderson | £481,500 |
| 7 | Jose de Sousa | £467,000 |
| 8 | Jonny Clayton | £443,000 |
| 9 | Dimitri Van den Bergh | £440,500 |
| 10 | Rob Cross | £405,500 |