SuperMotocross | 450 Class Race & Championship Payout

It’s no secret that purse money and championship bonuses are the allure of the SuperMotocross World Championship, as details about the million dollar plus purses were talked about repeatedly during the three-week run. With the dust settled and the money direct deposited into the accounts, we took a pay scale that you can see for yourself through the SMX website, tallied up the numbers, and listed who earned what in the 450 Class.

Now there are two things to note: the use of alternates at certain rounds means more than 22 riders competed, which is all that’s listed on the chart. To our best knowledge, the minimum $2400 Main Event payment was still given to riders if they only competed in one moto, and we put the amount next to the riders who filled spots or did not complete the night. Secondly, Feld Entertainment and teams worked together to restructure the way money was distributed, with teams even getting a cut of the purse. Because the SMX series is still in its infancy, many riders do not have bonuses for the series in their contracts.

1. Jett Lawrence – $1,250,000
North Carolina – 1st Place – $100,000
Texas – 3rd Place – $25,000
Nevada – 1st Place – $100,000
Championship– $1,000,000

2. Hunter Lawrence – $660,000
North Carolina – 4th Place – $10,000
Texas – 1st Place – $100,000
Nevada – 2nd Place – $50,000
Championship – $500,000

3. Eli Tomac – $335,000
North Carolina – 2nd Place – $50,000
Texas – 4th Place – $10,000
Nevada – 3rd Place – $25,000
Championship – $250,000

4. Aaron Plessinger – $217,7000
North Carolina – 8th Place – $3800
Texas – 7th Place – $3900
Nevada – 4th Place – $10,000
Championship – $200,000

5. Cooper Webb – $163,600
North Carolina – 10th Place – $3600
Texas – 5th Place – $5000
Nevada – 5th Place – $5000
Championship – $150,000

6. Ken Roczen – $147,900
North Carolina – 5th Place – $5000
Texas – 6th Place – $4000
Nevada – 7th Place – $3900
Championship – $135,000

7. Chase Sexton – $197,400
North Carolina – 3rd Place – $25,000
Texas – 2nd Place – $50,000
Nevada – 24th Place – $2400
Championship – $120,000

8. Justin Cooper – $110,400
North Carolina – 6th Place – $4000
Texas – 23rd Place – $2400
Nevada – 6th Place – $4000
Championship – $100,000

9. Dylan Ferrandis – $100,500
North Carolina – 11th Place – $3500
Texas – 9th Place – $3700
Nevada – 13th Place – $3300
Championship – $90,000

10. Justin Barcia – $78,800
North Carolina – DNS – $0
Texas – DNS – $0
Nevada – 8th Place – $3800
Championship – $75,000

11. Jason Anderson – $56,600
North Carolina – DNS – $0
Texas – 12th Place – $3400
Nevada – 14th Place – $3200
Championship – $50,000

12. Shane McElrath – $45,000
North Carolina – 13th Place – $3300
Texas – 15th Place – $3100
Nevada – 10th Place – $3600
Championship – $35,000

13. Harri Kullas – $43,300
North Carolina – 19th Place – $2700
Texas – 17th Place – $2900
Nevada – 9th Place – $3700
Championship – $34,000

14. Colt Nichols – $43,300
North Carolina – 9th Place – $3700
Texas – 10th Place – $3600
Nevada – 16th Place – $3000
Championship – $33,000

15. Marshal Weltin – $41,600
North Carolina – 12th Place – $3400
Texas – 18th Place – $2800
Nevada – 12th Place – $3400
Championship – $32,000

16. Freddie Noren – $40,200
North Carolina – 15th Place – $3100
Texas – 20th Place – $2600
Nevada –11th Place – $3500
Championship – $31,000

17. Malcolm Stewart – $39,600
North Carolina – 7th Place – $3900
Texas – 13th Place – $3300
Nevada – 23rd Place – $2400
Championship – $30,000

18. Dean Wilson – $37,900
North Carolina – 20th Place – $2600
Texas – 11th Place – $3500
Nevada – 18th Place – $2800
Championship – $29,000

19. Grant Harlan – $36,800
North Carolina – 16th Place – $3000
Texas – 19th Place – $2700
Nevada – 15th Place – $3100
Championship – $28,000

20. Christian Craig – $35,800
North Carolina – 14th Place – $3200
Texas – 14th Place – $3200
Nevada – 22nd Place – $2400
Championship – $27,000

21. Phil Nicoletti – $34,300
North Carolina – 17th Place – $2900
Texas – 21st Place – $2500
Nevada – 17th Place – $2900
Championship – $26,000

22. Kyle Chisholm – $33,100
North Carolina – 21st Place – $2500
Texas – 16th Place – $3000
Nevada – 20th Place – $2600
Championship – $25,000

23. Jerry Robin – $8200
North Carolina – 18th Place – $2800
Texas – 19th Place – $2700
Nevada – 19th Place – $2700
Championship – $0

24. Cullin Park – $6700
North Carolina – LCQ 6th Place– $2000
Texas – LCQ 4th Place – $2200
Nevada – 21st Place – $2500
Championship – $0

25. Justin Hill – $2400
North Carolina – 22nd Place – $2400
Texas – DNS – $0
Nevada – DNS – $0
Championship – $0

26. Romain Pape – $5900
North Carolina – LCQ 5th Place – $2100
Texas – LCQ 6th Place – $2000
Nevada – LCQ 8th Place – $1800
Championship – $0

27. Jeremy Hand – $5900
North Carolina – LCQ 7th Place – $1900
Texas – LCQ 5th Place – $2100
Nevada – LCQ 7th Place – $1900
Championship – $0

28. Cade Clason – $5700
North Carolina – LCQ 9th Place – $1700
Texas – LCQ 7th Place – $1900
Nevada – LCQ 5th Place – $2100
Championship – $0

29. Derek Kelley – $1800
North Carolina – LCQ 8th Place – $1800
Texas – DNS – $0
Nevada – DNS – $0
Championship – $0

Details & Takeaways

As you may have seen, one rider doing better in the championship didn’t necessarily mean they made more than those ranked behind them. Solid race finishes helped Chase Sexton net more money than Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb, while Romain Pape/Jeremy Hand/Cade Clason earned more through gate drops than Justin Hill did despite his better seeding. 

Nine riders ended the year with six-figure payouts, 12 earned between $33K to $78K, and the remaining seven took home under 10 grand.

Harri Kullas and Colt Nichols earned the same amount, which is interesting considering the two very different routes the riders took (Nichols via the LCQ, Kullas with a confirmed gate in every race).

Doing well is for sure the easiest way to earn more, and riders that finished in the top-three overall at any of the rounds took away significantly more than those who finished 5-7.

Not ranking in the top-22 in the championship is costly, as Kyle Chisholm netted 25K more than those beneath him.

Justin Barcia only did one race, but still fared better than Jason Anderson’s two-race results; the payout difference between the two was over twelve thousand dollars.