How Much Do AVP Players Make? Prize Money Explained

AVP prize money spans a huge range: 2026 event purses run from $20,000 at Contender stops to $300,000 at the Manhattan Beach Open. But the purse is split across the whole draw and both genders — so what does the winning team actually take home? At the 2021 Manhattan Beach Open, champions split $25,000 per team. Here's how the money works.

The 2026 purse ladder

Every AVP event advertises a total purse, and in 2026 those purses form a clear ladder. At the top: the Manhattan Beach Open at $300,000, the richest event in American beach volleyball. Next come the other Heritage Series majors — Huntington Beach at $150,000 and Laguna Beach. Then the big Contenders: Denver and Waupaca at $60,000 each. The regular Contender stops — Austin, Pompano Beach, Virginia Beach, Aspen, Edwardsville, Santa Barbara — carry $20,000 purses, and AVP Next developmental events start at a $8,000 minimum.

Remember that each purse covers the entire event: both the men's and women's draws, paid out by finishing position. The headline number is always bigger than any single check.

What the winners take home

So what does winning actually pay? The best-documented recent example comes from the 2021 Manhattan Beach Open, where April Ross and Alix Klineman won the women's title and Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb won the men's — each pair split $25,000. The runners-up, Emily Day and Betsi Flint, split $17,500.

Purses have grown since then — the 2026 MBO purse is $300,000 — so today's winner's checks at the majors are larger, but the AVP doesn't publish a fixed payout table, and the exact split varies by event. As a rule of thumb, winning a $20,000 Contender might pay a few thousand dollars per team; winning Manhattan Beach pays like a proper championship.

How players get paid (and how they lose it)

Winning the check and receiving it are two different things. Under the AVP Player Handbook, prize money is distributed via direct-deposit ACH through Payment Labs, in full, no later than 30 business days after the event (and in no case later than 90 days).

There's a catch players learn once: you have to set up your Payment Labs account with current banking info, and if you don't create or update it within 30 days of the event, the prize money expires and you forfeit that year's winnings. It's the least glamorous part of pro beach volleyball — paperwork — and it costs someone money every season.

The reality: purses aren't salaries

Here's the honest math the purse announcements don't show. Beach volleyball players are independent contractors: no salaries, no guaranteed contracts. They pay their own travel, lodging, coaching, and healthcare out of those checks. A team that consistently finishes mid-pack at $20,000 Contenders is not getting rich — they're grinding.

That's why nearly every pro has a second revenue stream. The top names earn real money from sponsorships — apparel, eyewear, equipment deals. Many run clinics and private lessons in the offseason. Some coach club or college programs. The AVP League's team format and ticketed events are partly an attempt to fix this — creating a more predictable, sponsor-friendly product than the old tournament-to-tournament grind.

The takeaway: at the very top, AVP stars do well. For everyone else, it's a hustle — and the players cashing $25,000 winner's checks in Manhattan Beach earned every dollar of it through years of $20,000 weekends.