So I get an email from OnlinePoker.org saying they prepared a poker income graphic that they would like me to share, and since downloading it didn't cause my virus scanner to go bonkers, I figure I would share it with you.

The poker earnings are probably understated because they got the data from PokerListings.com and that ONLY includes income from online poker that was tracked by that site.  As we all know, data tracking sites do not capture anywhere near 100% of hands.  This also doesn't include play in donakments (where many payouts are a million plus), nor does it include any results from live play (and we know a lot of the high stakes pros rape those games regularly), nor does it include earnings under different screen names.  I still thought it was interesting to compare the earnings potential in various competitive endeavors.  The actual total poker earnings (including those items I mentioned) will probably cause the numbers below to be perhaps 2-3x larger than what is listed.  None of the numbers below include bonuses or endorsements.

Poker vs Sports Income (click to view)

Obviously, the biggest difference with poker earnings is that you can be making millions one year and lose millions next year.  But I think as the years go by, you will start seeing the same names near the top of the leaderboard... like Phil Ivey, Tom "durrr" Dwan, Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond, Daniel "Jungleman12" Cates, Di "Urindanger" Dang, etc.

Anyway, I thought this was pretty interesting, because poker doesn't have a "glamorous" image in the mainstream, but for the top players, it's almost as lucrative as some of the more "acceptable" sports.  I do think that in my lifetime, poker (especially online poker) will be recognized as a legitimate competition.  Even in the last ten years or so, it's come a long way.