The FedEx Cup bonus pool is about to get a hefty increase for the 2018-2019 PGA Tour season.
The winner of the PGA Tour's season-long points race (and ending handicap tournament) will be taking home $15 million as part of a new deal between the Tour and FedEx to continue sponsoring the race for years in the future. The total FedEx Cup bonus pool has jumped from $35 million, which it had been for the first 11 years of the FedEx Cup, to $60 million starting with the 2018-19 season.
The FedEx Cup winner -- determined now by who wins the Tour Championship -- will take home $5 million more than previous winners, who each earned $10 million. The FedEx Cup champion will receive $14 million in cash up front, and they'll have $1 million deferred into their PGA Tour pension account, which could balloon to much more under a financial planner's watchful eye.
However, we don't often talk about the huge amount of money paid out through the FedEx Cup bonus pool to other PGA Tour players. The top 150 players in the final FedEx Cup points list are paid from the bonus pool, and all of those places will see an increase in money as a result of the increased bonus pool. The second-place finisher in the FedEx Cup will now get $5 million, up from the previous $3 million. Third place will now get $4 million. Fourth place will get $3 million, and so on. Players finishing 126th through 150th -- so those not even keeping their full PGA Tour status through the points list -- each earn $70,000.
The $25 million bonus increase is offset by the loss of a $9 million tournament, with the FedEx Cup playoffs format now only having three tournaments instead of four. However, that $9 million tournament loss is offset by the creation of the $10 million Wyndham Rewards Top 10 bonus pool for the top 10 finishers in the PGA Tour regular season.
New FedEx Cup bonus pool payouts comparison
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| POS | NEW BONUS | OLD BONUS | DIFFERNCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| 2 | $5,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
| 3 | $4,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
| 4 | $3,000,000 | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 |
| 5 | $2,500,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,500,000 |
| 6 | $1,900,000 | $800,000 | $1,100,000 |
| 7 | $1,300,000 | $700,000 | $600,000 |
| 8 | $1,100,000 | $600,000 | $500,000 |
| 9 | $950,000 | $550,000 | $400,000 |
| 10 | $830,000 | $500,000 | $330,000 |
| 11 | $750,000 | $300,000 | $450,000 |
| 12 | $705,000 | $290,000 | $415,000 |
| 13 | $660,000 | $280,000 | $380,000 |
| 14 | $620,000 | $270,000 | $350,000 |
| 15 | $595,000 | $250,000 | $345,000 |
| 16 | $570,000 | $245,000 | $325,000 |
| 17 | $550,000 | $240,000 | $310,000 |
| 78 | $535,000 | $235,000 | $300,000 |
| 19 | $520,000 | $230,000 | $290,000 |
| 20 | $505,000 | $225,000 | $280,000 |
| 21 | $490,000 | $220,000 | $270,000 |
| 22 | $478,000 | $215,000 | $263,000 |
| 23 | $466,000 | $210,000 | $256,000 |
| 24 | $456,000 | $205,000 | $251,000 |
| 25 | $445,000 | $200,000 | $245,000 |
| 26 | $435,000 | $195,000 | $240,000 |
| 27 | $425,000 | $190,000 | $235,000 |
| 28 | $415,000 | $185,000 | $230,000 |
| 29 | $405,000 | $180,000 | $225,000 |
| 30 | $395,000 | $175,000 | $220,000 |
| 31 | $200,000 | $165,000 | $35,000 |
| 32 | $195,000 | $155,000 | $40,000 |
| 33 | $190,000 | $150,000 | $40,000 |
| 34 | $186,000 | $145,000 | $41,000 |
| 35 | $183,000 | $142,000 | $41,000 |
| 36 | $181,000 | $140,000 | $41,000 |
| 37 | $179,000 | $138,000 | $41,000 |
| 38 | $177,000 | $137,000 | $40,000 |
| 39 | $175,000 | $136,000 | $39,000 |
| 40 | $173,000 | $135,000 | $38,000 |
| 41 | $171,000 | $134,000 | $37,000 |
| 42 | $169,000 | $133,000 | $36,000 |
| 43 | $168,000 | $132,000 | $36,000 |
| 44 | $167,000 | $131,000 | $36,000 |
| 45 | $166,000 | $130,000 | $36,000 |
| 46 | $165,000 | $129,000 | $36,000 |
| 47 | $164,000 | $128,000 | $36,000 |
| 48 | $163,000 | $127,000 | $36,000 |
| 49 | $162,000 | $126,000 | $36,000 |
| 50 | $161,000 | $125,000 | $36,000 |
| 51 | $160,000 | $120,000 | $40,000 |
| 52 | $159,000 | $115,000 | $44,000 |
| 53 | $158,000 | $114,000 | $44,000 |
| 54 | $157,000 | $113,000 | $44,000 |
| 55 | $156,000 | $110,000 | $46,000 |
| 56 | $155,000 | $80,000 | $75,000 |
| 57 | $154,000 | $80,000 | $74,000 |
| 58 | $153,000 | $80,000 | $73,000 |
| 59 | $152,000 | $80,000 | $72,000 |
| 60 | $151,000 | $80,000 | $71,000 |
| 61-65 | $150,000 | $80,000 | $70,000 |
| 66-70 | $140,000 | $80,000 | $60,000 |
| 71-80 | $110,000 | $80,000 | $30,000 |
| 81-85 | $110,000 | $75,000 | $35,000 |
| 86-100 | $105,000 | $75,000 | $30,000 |
| 101-125 | $101,000 | $70,000 | $31,000 |
| 126-150 | $70,000 | $32,000 | $38,000 |
