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Tadej Pogačar’s juicy multi-year contract is heralding a new era of mega-salaries and unlimited spending in elite men’s racing.
Just days after details of the deal that Remco Evenepoel walked away from with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, La Gazzetta dello Sport revealed the numbers behind Pogačar’s new agreement.
The new contract — which extends through the end of the 2029 season — makes the Slovenian sensation the highest-paid rider in the peloton.
Citing sources, La Gazzetta reported that the annual payout is a whopping 8 million euros.
That’s a nudge up from his reported 6 million euros per year he’s currently on.
Those numbers line up close to what sources indicated to Velo last month that the total package would be worth north of $50 million for the prolific winner.
The long-term contract extension ends when he’s 32 and will make him the best-paid rider in the peloton, at least for now.
Unprecedented buy-out clause
There was another juicy tidbit: The reported buyout clause is 200 million euros.
That all but guarantees Pogačar will end his career – or at least this contract — in a UAE Team Emirates jersey.
That’s not quite the $10 million per year that was reportedly on the table for Evenepoel — the Belgian decided to stay with Soudal Quick-Step on a cool 5 million per year — but it reveals that salaries are reaching unseen levels within cycling.
Today’s Gazzetta reports Pogacar’s UAE contract renewal is worth €8M per year. Next year’s focus will be on the Tour and Worlds, with confirmed participation in Milan-Sanremo and the Ronde. Either the Giro or Vuelta may also be added, but not both.
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) November 5, 2024
Pogačar’s big boost seems him earning a wage on par with mainstream sports, like a top player in the NFL or European soccer.
Pogačar certainly deserves it. In 2024, he won 25 races, including becoming the third elite male to complete the “Triple Crown” of the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, and world title.
Pogačar is currently enjoying a brief racing respite before reloading for 2025.
UAE Team Emirates not standing still
UAE Team Emirates continues to sign quality riders going into the 2025 campaign to support and complement Pogačar.
The team is being more selective, adding riders like Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers), Rune Herregodts (Intermarché-Wanty), and Florian Vermeersch (Lotto Dstny), along with some budding young talent.
Departures, including Marc Hirschi to Tudor Pro Cycling and Diego Ulissi to Astana Qazaqstan, will leave gaps, but UAE is constantly tinkering to put riders into place to remain at the top of the sport.
With Pogačar secure at the top of the pyramid, UAE’s run with the elite could last for the remainder of this decade.
The highest salaries keep climbing to unprecedented levels, and with ever more ambitious sponsors and backers moving into the sport, the paycheck boom is showing no signs of slowing down.
The race to the top among cycling’s so-called “super teams” is driving up salaries, and putting the pinch on teams who cannot deliver the $50 million-plus team budgets required to stay at the top.
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