Nick Walker walked off the Orleans Arena stage with the Sandow trophy and a check for $600,000. It was the biggest single payout of the 2026 Olympia weekend, and the same figure the last two Mr. Olympia champions took home.
The money behind him tells its own story. Samson Dauda earned more for finishing second than any other division paid its champion, the Wheelchair winner took home a third of what fifth place paid in the Open, and the Sandow itself is no longer the richest check in the sport.
Here is what every division paid in Las Vegas, where the money went, and how the Sandow’s check grew from $1,000 in 1965.
How much does Mr. Olympia win?
In 2026 the Mr. Olympia winner received $600,000. Second place paid $200,000, third $100,000, fourth $40,000 and fifth $30,000. Walker, Dauda, Derek Lunsford, Andrew Jacked and Tonio Burton shared $970,000 between them.
2026 Olympia prize money by division
What the top five in every 2026 Olympia division were paid. Mr. Olympia pays the most by a distance. Fit Model’s purse had not been released at publication, so that row stays blank until it is.
| Division | Champion | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Olympia | Nick Walker | $600,000 | $200,000 | $100,000 | $40,000 | $30,000 |
| Classic Physique | Niall Darwen | $100,000 | $40,000 | $20,000 | $10,000 | $6,000 |
| Men’s 212 | Keone Pearson | $50,000 | $20,000 | $12,000 | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Men’s Physique | Ryan Terry | $50,000 | $20,000 | $12,000 | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Ms. Olympia | Andrea Shaw | $50,000 | $20,000 | $12,000 | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Women’s Physique | Natalia Abraham Coelho | $50,000 | $20,000 | $12,000 | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Figure | Lola Montez | $50,000 | $20,000 | $12,000 | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Wellness | Eduarda Bezerra | $50,000 | $20,000 | $12,000 | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Bikini | Jasmine Gonzalez | $50,000 | $20,000 | $12,000 | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Fitness | Michelle Fredua-Mensah | $50,000 | $20,000 | $12,000 | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Wheelchair | Blake Colleton | $10,000 | $3,500 | $2,000 | $1,500 | $1,000 |
| Fit Model | Shealynn Burnett | Not yet published | ||||
The Sandow paid $600,000 for the third straight year, the same check Samson Dauda won in 2024 and Derek Lunsford in 2025. Dauda’s $200,000 for second was twice what any other division paid its champion, and Lunsford’s $100,000 for third matched the Classic Physique winner’s check.
Where the money went
Across the 11 divisions that released their payouts, the top five finishers shared $1,924,000. The Mr. Olympia top five took $970,000 of it, just over half.
The pay ladder has four rungs. Mr. Olympia sits alone at the top. Classic Physique comes next with $100,000 for its champion. Eight divisions pay their winners $50,000: Men’s 212, Men’s Physique, Ms. Olympia, Women’s Physique, Figure, Wellness, Bikini and Fitness. Wheelchair pays $10,000.
Line those numbers up and some odd comparisons fall out:
- Andrew Jacked earned $40,000 for fourth place in the Open, $10,000 less than Keone Pearson got for winning a fourth straight 212 title.
- Andrea Shaw won a seventh straight Ms. Olympia and took home $50,000, one-twelfth of Walker’s check.
- Blake Colleton’s $10,000 for winning Wheelchair was a third of what Tonio Burton earned for finishing fifth in the Open.
Classic Physique pays double
Niall Darwen’s upset in Classic Physique was worth $100,000, twice what Keone Pearson, Andrea Shaw, Natalia Abraham Coelho, Lola Montez and Eduarda Bezerra each earned for their titles that weekend. The gap is not new: Ramon Dino also took home $100,000 for the 2025 Classic title, when the other divisions paid $50,000.
Classic’s runner-up check says the same thing. Mike Sommerfeld’s $40,000 for second was double the $20,000 that second place paid in the $50,000 divisions.
Is the Sandow still the biggest check in bodybuilding?
No. The Arnold Classic paid its Men’s Open winner $750,000 in March, $150,000 more than the Sandow, and Andrew Jacked collected it, five points ahead of Nick Walker on the official scorecard. In June, prep coach Chris Aceto said on Dave Palumbo’s show that he was on the fence about whether the Olympia would raise its prize money this year. He did not think a raise was needed, but warned that a big gap in the Arnold Classic’s favor would undercut the Olympia’s history. By then, Jacked had claimed more than $1 million in prize money from wins at the Arnold Classic in Ohio and the Arnold Classic UK, as we reported at the time.
The Olympia held its winner’s check at $600,000. Jacked, who dominated the spring, finished fourth in Las Vegas and took home $40,000.
The Sandow’s price tag through the years
The first Mr. Olympia, in 1965, paid $1,000. These are the milestones in the winner’s check, and the champion who collected each new figure first:
| Year | Winner’s prize | Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | $1,000 | Larry Scott |
| 1976 | $5,000 | Franco Columbu |
| 1979 | $25,000 | Frank Zane |
| 1984 | $50,000 | Lee Haney |
| 1990 | $100,000 | Lee Haney |
| 2005 | $150,000 | Ronnie Coleman |
| 2009 | $200,000 | Jay Cutler |
| 2012 | $250,000 | Phil Heath |
| 2015 to 2023 | $400,000 | Phil Heath (2015) through Derek Lunsford (2023) |
| 2024 to 2026 | $600,000 | Samson Dauda, Derek Lunsford, Nick Walker |
That is a 600-fold rise in 61 years. Phil Heath’s first title in 2011 was worth $200,000; by the time he won his last in 2017 the check had doubled.
Inflation takes some of the shine off the headline number. Adjusted with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, Larry Scott’s $1,000 from 1965 is worth about $10,600 in today’s money. Walker’s check is still roughly 56 times bigger in real terms.
Every result, top five and scorecard from the weekend is in our 2026 Olympia results for every division, and every champion since 1965 is on our Mr. Olympia winners list.
