Thanks to Barry Revzin for compiling this data. (Originally published Sep 5, 2021.)
Caeleb Dressel of the Cali Condors led all swimmers with $34,125.00 in earnings in Match 4 of the 2021 ISL season, giving him the single highest payout from a match so far this season. Previously, Condor Coleman Stewart held that title with his $26,775 total from match 1.
Dressel, the league MVP from last season, won the Match 4 MVP honor, along with the $8,000 bonus that goes with it.
This season, only the MVP winner at each meet receives money. In 2020, the top 3 finishers in the MVP rankings all did.
Match 4 Final Standings
- Cali Condors
- LA Current
- Aqua Centurions
- DC Trident
Dressel’s $34,000 in earnings topped the field by a wide margin, as his teammate Kelsi Dahlia finished 2nd in earnings for the meet with $17,900. Both swimmers earned an $11,000 bonus for winning the skins events, with Dressel claiming the men’s 50 freestyle skins and Dahlia taking first in the women’s 50 butterfly skins.
Following a common trend seen in the ISL, there was a large “wealth gap” in earnings between the swimmers from the Condors and Current as compared to the swimmers from the DC Trident and Aqua. All 10 of the highest earning swimmers from match 4 came from either the Condors or the Current, with the three highest earners (Dressel, Dahlia, and Lilly King) swimming for the Cali Condors. On the DC Trident, Bailey Andison saw the highest payout with a total of $5,750, ranking her 13th overall on the money table. Aqua’s highest earner, Nicolo Martinenghi, finished just ahead of her in 12th overall with $6,300.
Out of the 112 athletes who competed in Match 4, 20 of them earned less than $1000 in prize money, even with team bonuses.
ISL Match 4 Prize Money – By Team
| Rank | Team | Points | Individual | Relay | Team Bonus | MVP | Skins | Total | Stolen |
| 1 | Cali Condors | 594 | $56,800 | $20,100 | $21,600 | $8,000 | $25,250 | $131,750 | $4,150 |
| 2 | LA Current | 444.5 | $53,750 | $12,900 | $11,200 | $0 | $4,750 | $82,600 | $150 |
| 3 | Aqua Centurions | 375.5 | $38,450 | $17,100 | $5,600 | $0 | $1,800 | $62,950 | $100 |
| 4 | DC Trident | 359 | $37,400 | $4,900 | $0 | $0 | $2,400 | $44,700 | $150 |
ISL Match 4 Prize Money – Individual
| Rank | Swimmer | Team | Points | Individual | Relay | Skins | MVP | Team Bonus | Total | Stolen |
| 1 | DRESSEL Caeleb | CAC | 112.5 | 12,300.00 | 2,025.00 | 11,000.00 | 8,000.00 | 800 | 34,125.00 | 1,725.00 |
| 2 | DAHLIA Kelsi | CAC | 58.5 | 4,800.00 | 1,300.00 | 11,000.00 | 0 | 800 | 17,900.00 | 2,200.00 |
| 3 | NELSON Beata | CAC | 53.5 | 8,950.00 | 1,200.00 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 10,950.00 | 150 |
| 4 | WILSON Madison | LAC | 44.5 | 8,800.00 | 1,200.00 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 10,400.00 | 0 |
| 5 | KING Lilly | CAC | 43 | 7,200.00 | 1,300.00 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 9,300.00 | 0 |
| 6 | RESS Justin | CAC | 31.5 | 3,200.00 | 2,025.00 | 3,200.00 | 0 | 800 | 9,225.00 | 25 |
| 7 | FINK Nic | CAC | 34.5 | 5,600.00 | 1,625.00 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 8,025.00 | 25 |
| 8 | WEITZEIL Abbey | LAC | 41.5 | 4,850.00 | 2,600.00 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 7,850.00 | 50 |
| 9 | SHIELDS Tom | LAC | 37.5 | 5,600.00 | 1,800.00 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 7,800.00 | 0 |
| 10 | STEWART Coleman | CAC | 37.5 | 5,600.00 | 1,325.00 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 7,725.00 | 25 |
| 11 | WILM Ingrid | LAC | 35 | 4,850.00 | 1,200.00 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 6,450.00 | 50 |
| 12 | MARTINENGHI Nicolo | AQC | 28.5 | 4,900.00 | 1,200.00 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 6,300.00 | 0 |
| 13 | ANDISON Bailey | DCT | 37 | 5,750.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,750.00 | 150 |
| 14 | GORBENKO Anastasia | LAC | 30.5 | 4,850.00 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 5,450.00 | 50 |
| 15 | GASTALDELLO Beryl | LAC | 19 | 800 | 1,400.00 | 2,800.00 | 0 | 400 | 5,400.00 | 0 |
| 16 | MALYUTIN Martin | LAC | 22.5 | 4,900.00 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 5,325.00 | 0 |
| 17 | MACK Linnea | DCT | 26.5 | 2,800.00 | 50 | 2,400.00 | 0 | 0 | 5,250.00 | 0 |
| 18 | VAZAIOS Andreas | DCT | 28 | 5,200.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,200.00 | 0 |
| 19 | MIRESSI Alessandro | AQC | 25 | 2,400.00 | 1,625.00 | 800 | 0 | 200 | 5,025.00 | 25 |
| 20 | SCHEFFER Fernando | LAC | 20 | 4,400.00 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 4,825.00 | 0 |
| 21 | DELOOF Ali | DCT | 25.5 | 4,400.00 | 300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,700.00 | 0 |
| 22 | CECCON Thomas | AQC | 28 | 2,000.00 | 2,425.00 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 4,625.00 | 25 |
| 23 | CASTIGLIONI Arianna | AQC | 20.5 | 3,300.00 | 800 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 4,300.00 | 0 |
| 24 | HVAS Tomoe | LAC | 26 | 3,800.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 4,200.00 | 0 |
| 24 | BROWN Erika | CAC | 23.8 | 1,350.00 | 2,000.00 | 50 | 0 | 800 | 4,200.00 | 0 |
| 26 | DI LIDDO Elena | AQC | 16.5 | 1,600.00 | 1,600.00 | 600 | 0 | 200 | 4,000.00 | 0 |
| 26 | NEALE Leah | DCT | 21.5 | 3,600.00 | 400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000.00 | 0 |
| 28 | BORODIN Ilia | AQC | 18.5 | 3,700.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 3,900.00 | 0 |
| 29 | SMOLIGA Olivia | CAC | 19.5 | 900 | 2,100.00 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 3,800.00 | 0 |
| 30 | BARRATT Holly | AQC | 19 | 2,650.00 | 250 | 200 | 0 | 200 | 3,300.00 | 0 |
| 31 | DE DEUS Leonardo | AQC | 15 | 2,000.00 | 800 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 3,000.00 | 0 |
| 31 | DRESSEL Sherridon | CAC | 18.5 | 600 | 1,600.00 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 3,000.00 | 0 |
| 33 | PEBLEY Jacob | DCT | 22 | 2,600.00 | 350 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,950.00 | 0 |
| 34 | PELLEGRINI Federica | AQC | 13 | 1,700.00 | 1,000.00 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 2,900.00 | 0 |
| 35 | KAMENEVA Maria | AQC | 23.5 | 800 | 1,800.00 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 2,800.00 | 0 |
| 35 | HANNIS Molly | CAC | 15 | 1,600.00 | 400 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 2,800.00 | 0 |
| 37 | KAMMINGA Arno | AQC | 15.5 | 1,600.00 | 800 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 2,600.00 | 0 |
| 37 | KALISZ Chase | AQC | 13.5 | 2,400.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 2,600.00 | 0 |
| 39 | CHRISTOU Apostolos | LAC | 16.5 | 1,900.00 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 2,500.00 | 0 |
| 39 | ESCOBEDO Emily | CAC | 10 | 1,700.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 2,500.00 | 0 |
| 41 | BUKHOV Vladislav | LAC | 7.5 | 200 | 25 | 1,800.00 | 0 | 400 | 2,425.00 | 0 |
| 42 | FRANCESCHI Sara | LAC | 15 | 2,000.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 2,400.00 | 0 |
| 43 | CHIERIGHINI Marcelo | AQC | 11 | 0 | 2,025.00 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 2,225.00 | 25 |
| 44 | DUMONT Valentine | LAC | 15 | 500 | 1,200.00 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 2,100.00 | 0 |
| 45 | DEVINE Abrahm | LAC | 14 | 1,650.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 2,050.00 | 0 |
| 46 | SZABO Szebasztian | AQC | 9.5 | 800 | 800 | 200 | 0 | 200 | 2,000.00 | 0 |
| 47 | GASSON Helena | LAC | 18.2 | 1,400.00 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 400 | 1,850.00 | 0 |
| 47 | POLIERI Alessia | AQC | 5.5 | 1,650.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 1,850.00 | 0 |
| 49 | RIVOLTA Matteo | AQC | 21 | 1,200.00 | 400 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 1,800.00 | 0 |
| 49 | ROTHBAUER Christopher | LAC | 14 | 200 | 1,200.00 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 1,800.00 | 0 |
| 51 | ROONEY Maxime | LAC | 12 | 900 | 400 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 1,700.00 | 0 |
| 51 | HOPKIN Anna | DCT | 17.5 | 1,000.00 | 700 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,700.00 | 0 |
| 53 | EVANS Joanna | DCT | 15.5 | 1,600.00 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,650.00 | 0 |
| 54 | NIKOLAEV Mark | DCT | 12 | 1,600.00 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,625.00 | 0 |
| 54 | COPE Tommy | DCT | 13 | 1,600.00 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,625.00 | 0 |
| 54 | SHCHEGOLEV Aleksandr | DCT | 17.5 | 1,400.00 | 225 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,625.00 | 0 |
| 57 | CIAMPI Matteo | AQC | 15.5 | 1,400.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 1,600.00 | 0 |
| 57 | PUTS Jesse | CAC | 3.5 | 0 | 800 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 1,600.00 | 0 |
| 57 | MAJCHRZAK Kacper | CAC | 3.5 | 0 | 800 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 1,600.00 | 0 |
| 60 | SAVARD Katerine | CAC | 9 | 200 | 500 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 1,500.00 | 0 |
| 60 | GROTHE Zane | DCT | 15.5 | 1,400.00 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,500.00 | 0 |
| 62 | GRINEV Vladislav | AQC | 7.5 | 0 | 1,225.00 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 1,425.00 | 25 |
| 63 | NTOUNTOUNAKI Anna | LAC | 11 | 1,000.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 1,400.00 | 0 |
| 63 | CORDES Kevin | CAC | 9 | 600 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 1,400.00 | 0 |
| 63 | SOROKINA Anastasia | CAC | 7 | 600 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 1,400.00 | 0 |
| 63 | KOSTIN Oleg | CAC | 9 | 600 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 1,400.00 | 0 |
| 67 | PIETRUSCHKA Marie | CAC | 4 | 0 | 500 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 1,300.00 | 0 |
| 67 | MARTINEZ Jose Angel | CAC | 6 | 100 | 400 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 1,300.00 | 0 |
| 69 | CARRARO Martina | AQC | 15.5 | 1,000.00 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 1,250.00 | 0 |
| 70 | DI PIETRO Silvia | AQC | 12.5 | 900 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 1,150.00 | 0 |
| 71 | APPLE Zach | DCT | 11.5 | 800 | 300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,100.00 | 0 |
| 72 | NAZIEBLO Klaudia | DCT | 14 | 900 | 150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,050.00 | 0 |
| 73 | PERIBONIO Tomas | CAC | 3 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 1,000.00 | 0 |
| 73 | LICON Will | LAC | 8.5 | 400 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 1,000.00 | 0 |
| 73 | SZARANEK Mark | CAC | 5.5 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 1,000.00 | 0 |
| 73 | SCOZZOLI Fabio | AQC | 4.5 | 800 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 1,000.00 | 0 |
| 73 | PINFOLD Brett | LAC | 5.5 | 0 | 600 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 1,000.00 | 0 |
| 73 | BAQLAH Khader | CAC | 4 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 1,000.00 | 0 |
| 73 | CIESLAK Marcin | CAC | 2 | 100 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 1,000.00 | 0 |
| 73 | BALLO Stefano | AQC | 9 | 800 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 1,000.00 | 0 |
| 81 | HELD Ryan | LAC | 4.5 | 50 | 400 | 100 | 0 | 400 | 950 | 0 |
| 82 | WILLIAMS Brodie | CAC | 3 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 900 | 0 |
| 82 | DE WAARD Maaike | CAC | 2 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 900 | 0 |
| 82 | FRANCA SILVA Felipe | DCT | 13.5 | 600 | 300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 900 | 0 |
| 82 | ACEVEDO Javier | LAC | 8 | 500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 900 | 0 |
| 82 | KULLMAN Leonie | CAC | 5 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 900 | 0 |
| 87 | HARTING Zach | DCT | 11 | 250 | 500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 750 | 0 |
| 88 | JAKABOS Zsuzsanna | DCT | 8 | 650 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 650 | 0 |
| 89 | TAYLOR Laura | AQC | 6.5 | 400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 600 | 0 |
| 89 | BAKER Kathleen | LAC | 2.5 | 0 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 600 | 0 |
| 89 | CLARK Imogen | LAC | 5 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 600 | 0 |
| 92 | TEMNIKOVA Maria | DCT | 8 | 500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 500 | 0 |
| 93 | BELONOGOFF Tatiana | DCT | 10.5 | 300 | 150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 450 | 0 |
| 93 | MUNOZ DEL CAMPO Lidon | AQC | 4 | 0 | 250 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 450 | 0 |
| 95 | CORREIA Breno | LAC | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 425 | 0 |
| 96 | TETEREVKOVA Kotryna | LAC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 400 | 0 |
| 96 | BRUHN Annika | DCT | 3 | 0 | 400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 0 |
| 96 | HINDLEY Isabella | DCT | 3 | 0 | 400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 0 |
| 96 | DAHLKE Mikaela | LAC | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 400 | 0 |
| 96 | MARSH Alyssa | LAC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 400 | 0 |
| 96 | CARAMIGNOLI Martina | AQC | 2.5 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 400 | 0 |
| 96 | OMOTO Rika | AQC | 6 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 400 | 0 |
| 103 | LITHERLAND Jay | DCT | 6 | 300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 300 | 0 |
| 104 | LESAFFRE Fantine | AQC | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 250 | 0 |
| 105 | NASRETDINOVA Rosalia | AQC | -0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 200 | 0 |
| 106 | HOFFER Ryan | DCT | 3.5 | 0 | 175 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 175 | 0 |
| 107 | MURPHY Camden | DCT | 2 | 50 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 150 | 0 |
| 108 | QUAH Ting Wen | DCT | 3 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| 108 | SHEVTSOV Sergey | DCT | 2 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| 108 | STJEPANOVIC Velimir | DCT | 3 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| 111 | KENNEDY Madison | DCT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Seems like an awful lot of money to be making as an athlete. Do PGA golfers or WTA tennis players have purses as big as Caleb’s 34 grand payday?
I like how you threw WTA in there as an insult like female tennis players aren’t the highest paid female athletes every single year.
I think that’s why he used them as an example, pga golfers are also extremely well compensated
That’s awesome, hope they pay it… I’m still waiting from my 2020 contract
Crazy the top athletes in any other spprt probably make that in a few minutes and this dude is a onve in a generation talent
Very true, but it took the other pro sports leagues decades to reach their current state of profitability. We are early on in pro swimming, though it will likely never reach the levels of soccer in Europe or NBA/NFL/MLB in the U.S.
Cantley made $15 million last week on PGA!
At the end of the day, sports is entertainment and entertainments value is based on public interest. Which is why while the US could say theoretically create the worlds best rugby club based on the population, those athletes are better off playing football, because the general public watches that. Swimming will never create guys that sign 5 year 200 million dollar contracts, or have a major league minimum $500k salary(MLB is wild). That said, the ISL is better than nothing, and keeps more folks in the game
Anyone know if the swimmers every got fully paid for last year?
We have not been fully paid for last year.
Is there anything fans can do to pressure whoever is responsible for paying you to pay you for last season?
Probably the best thing fans could do is to prove the viability of the ISL by paying for streams.
I’ll be more than happy to pay for the final or playoffs. But probably not regular matches where the stronger teams are so dominant and there’s 0 surprise.
*The checks are in the mail.
Are athletes who compete for a team given a salary? Or does their salary depend purely on their swims? It would be a major toss up, “I could swim really fast at all these meets OR maybe swim fast and qualify for an international meet..”
Imagine any professional athlete whose salary depended purely on performance. It essence, it makes sense… sort of, but… NFL kicker misses a FG – doesn’t get paid. Giannis underperforms – doesn’t get paid. That doesn’t make sense, and isn’t a thing in the “real world” but bottom line is a lot of athletes contribute outside the pool/field.
I hope a lot of these swimmers get paid because I can think of a few who still… Read more »
What do you mean it is not a thing in the real world? If you own a business and it is losing money nobody is paying you
You own a business and you hire employees, those employees are owed (& deserving of) compensation. Even if you fire an employee… they’re compensated. I’m confused why you’re confused.
I’m also just asking a broad question regarding the ISL and their athletes.
I *think* they’re contractors, technically speaking.
Not that it undermines your point.
Under US law, they would considered employees under the IRS’ criteria for independent contractor (1099) versus employee (W2). I have *zero* idea if or how those definitions would apply to ISL athletes athletes competing overseas for US-owned teams.
and which one of these swimmers owns the ISL? In the real world, if you’re working for someone, you get paid, no matter how the business is doing.
Each athlete is receiving a $7500 “solidarity stipend” this season.
I’ve been impressed with Neale so far for the Trident. Good pickup. Her performing better than Hoffer was not something I would have expected