Bodybuilding veteran Lee Priest believes fans could be in store for a major announcement at the nearing 2025 Arnold Classic. On February 2, 2025, Priest speculated that Arnold Schwarzenegger might raise the Open winner prize money to a staggering $1 million.
The annual Arnold Classic is the second most prestigious contest on the IFBB Pro League calendar, behind the Mr. Olympia. At the 2024 Arnold Classic, won by former Olympia winner Hadi Choopan, ‘The Austrian Oak’ revealed plans to raise the Open winner payout to $500,000.
This caused an uproar within the bodybuilding community because, at the time, the Mr. Olympia event was only awarding $400,000 to its Open champion. Bodybuilding veterans were quick to discuss the prize money war with names such as Shawn Ray suggesting that the Olympia would eventually ‘answer the call.’
Ray turned out to be correct. In a shocking revelation, Olympia owner Jake Wood confirmed on the night of the 2024 Olympia that the prize money skyrocketed to $600,000, which was earned by bodybuilder Samson Dauda, who became the 19th athlete to secure the coveted Sandow trophy. Now, with the Arnold Classic approaching, Priest is curious if Schwarzenegger will up the ante once again.
Lee Priest Discusses Chances of Arnold Schwarzenegger Raising Prize Money for His Event to $1 Million
In a recent YouTube video, Priest opened up on whether Arnold Schwarzenegger will feel the need to increase the Men’s Open winner’s payout at the upcoming 2025 Arnold Classic.
“Is it still up in the air whether we think Arnold is going to do what the Olympia did and of course, Olympia outed him. I heard that was last minute that Jake decided to do that. Do you think Arnold is going to be like okay, oh well, instead of $500,000, he’s going to, like I said he could always do seven and eight but then it just seems like when you’re at an auction, 750, 775.”
He believes there’s a considerable chance Schwarzenegger boosts the prize money to a historic $1 million.
“I think Arnold should come out and go fuck it, one million here you go. I’m the first one to do it, the first one to hit it. Now try and keep up,” shares Priest.
He adds that Schwarzenegger has always been competitive, and that trait hasn’t gone away since he retired from the sport.
“I think it’s like, Arnold hates being beat, that’s like his whole movie career with Stallone and all that. He’s got that competition streak and now Joe Weider is gone, there is nothing holding him back. You know Arnold would love to be the first one to say I gave $1 million in prize money to the bodybuilders not Jake Wood,” he shared.
Prize money continues to be raised across the board in the IFBB Pro League, but especially for Men’s Open competitors. Currently, the Dubai Pro is set to award $100,000 to its Open champion. Meanwhile, the 2025 Pittsburgh Pro in May is also expected to hand out a hefty cash prize to its winners.
Lee Priest believes Schwarzenegger’s competitive nature could nudge him to increase the prize money in 2025. If he does follow through with an increase, it will once again put pressure on the Olympia brand to raise the stakes.
Watch the full video from the IFBB AMA YouTube channel below:
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