Darts is enjoying a moment in the sun and the biggest name players are becoming extremely popular.
World Champion Luke Littler and fellow Englishman Luke Humphries are the world's number one and two respectively according to the current PDC Order of Merit, and their popularity with the public makes them prime choices for sponsorships and endorsements.
Humphries beat Littler in the 2024 final of the world championships before Littler, then 17, went one better to become the youngest ever world darts champion in January 2025.
The pair have been racking up the prize money like nobody's business.
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World number one Humphries sits at the top of the Order of Merit having collected £1,905,750 in prize money in the last two years.
Littler has pocketed £1,292,000 in the same period and his extraordinary emergence has made him a marketer's dream.
Darts players making money is nothing new.
Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor are the richest players ever in terms of prize money but Humphries, who also ranks in the top ten, explained that sponsorship work away from the oche can be lucrative for players like himself and Littler.
Speaking on JaackMaate's Happy Hour podcast, former roofer Humphries described the £50,000 in prize money he collected in his first year as a full-time darts pro.
"That was a nice bit of lump sum in your bank again," said Humphries.
"And then I did it again (the next year). Made the quarter finals again, another 50 grand, obviously winning money in between that as well. And then you're well over six figures in your bank account as a whole and then you're like, 'Okay, well there's no pressure on me now.'"
But players like Humphries can make a packet before they even step up to the board.
"They're paying you like five, 10 grand for each sponsor, you're kind of getting £30/40,000 on your shirt before you've even thrown a dart!" added the former world champion.
"This was like, seven years ago. That's already a year's salary, without winning anything! That's comfortability.
"Whereas now it's ridiculous, it's silly money. When you see that half a million going from the worlds, that is like, 'woah!'"
Topics: Darts, Luke Littler
Chris Nee