Tadej Pogacar is arguably the best pro cyclist in the current peloton. His achievements of 2024 have turned him from a great to a virtual legend for the history of the sport and this has also reflected in his contract which sees his salary increase even more despite him already previously being the best payed rider in the peloton.
Today's Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Pogacar's new salary is of €8 million per season. This comes as an increase from his previous salary of €6 million. The team, backed by the Emirati nation, has cash to throw at the best riders in the world and also many of the youngest talents, which has allowed the development of a team that comfortable dominates the UCI rankings currently. This would also be followed, according to the report, by a €200 million contract clause which pretty much makes it impossible for anyone to buy out his contract.
Much of that is due to Pogacar who this year won no less than Strade Bianche, Volta a Catalunya, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, GP de Montréal, World Championships Road Race, Giro dell'Emilia and Il Lombardia... A total of 25 races added to his palmarès, some historic achievements made; but even others in development as for example a possible future goal of reaching the stage win record at the Tour de France. Pogacar recently signed a new contract all the way into 2030 - joining Spanish super-talent Pablo Torres when it comes to duration.
The creation of a women's development team related to Pogacar and his fiancée Urska Zigart could also have been influenced by this new move in the market. At the time being Pogacar not only has almost double the UCI points of his closes rival Remco Evenepoel, but not almost double the salary as any of his competitors - for good reason though, most would argue. However, it has been recently rumoured that
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe was willing to offer Remco Evenepoel €10 million a year which would actually see the Belgian soar up this statistic.