Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s biggest star Gordon Ryan has disclosed his impressive earnings from the sport, revealing he made $9 million in 2024 alone. However, his financial success comes with a stark warning to aspiring athletes about the economic realities of professional grappling.
The 29-year-old phenom took to social media to share detailed insights about his income, which primarily came from instructional courses and merchandise rather than competition purses. According to his social media, his instructional course “They Shall Not Pass” generated over $800,000, while “Systematically Attacking The Crucifix” brought in approximately $700,000.
“Young athletes – jiu-jitsu is a participant-based sport, meaning that most people who watch it actually participate in it, and it is not a spectator sport yet, you will not make nearly as much money as pure athletes in other sports from competing,” Ryan stated on Instagram.
The decorated athlete emphasized that while competing and teaching can provide financial stability for some, the path to substantial wealth in BJJ lies elsewhere. “If you can use jiu-jitsu as a mechanism to build relationships, you can escape the financial prison that is the life of a jiu-jitsu athlete,” he explained.
Ryan’s journey hasn’t been without challenges. He has battled significant health issues, including a severe stomach condition that was eventually diagnosed as a fungal growth in his small intestine. “It was affecting my kidney function, it was just awful. I was 24/7 nauseous,” he shared about his health struggles.
Despite these obstacles, Ryan has maintained his position at the top of the sport while building a successful business empire. “2024—Another year of me being half dead, but still on top,” he reflected.
His message to upcoming athletes is clear: “Nickel and diming people is a great way to make quick cash. Building long-term and trustworthy relationships with SOLID people is how you use jiu-jitsu to become wealthy.”
The figure is probably not far off, Ryan shared some staggering statistics back in 2020.
Ryan also signed a 7 figure deal with flosports in 2023. Craig Jones shared his thoughts on FloGrappling’s business model at the time and its heavy reliance on Gordon Ryan, suggesting potential troubles ahead for the streaming platform.
Jones pointed out what he saw as a critical flaw in FloGrappling’s strategy. “They basically cannot make profit off a professional grappling event unless Gordon’s involved,” Jones explained. “They recognize this very early on.”
The Australian athlete criticized the platform’s approach to talent development, suggesting they missed an opportunity to build a more sustainable business model. “Instead of saying ‘hey let’s build an organization where one guy is not the star, let’s try to leverage him to build other stars so that if we lose him we can still turn a profit,’ they go ‘you know what, all we care about is the profits of the next show,'” Jones stated.
Flograppling failed to capitalize on the deal considering Ryan was incapacitated for large spans of time in 2023 and 2024 ultimately competing once at WNO in 2024 just before the ADCC.
And the landscape of BJJ is rapidly changing with both UFC and ONE FC attempting to sign athletes to exclusive contracts.
