Two weeks after the conclusion of the 2026 Masters CrossFit Games, athletes have been notified of the prize money for the podium finishers. The total prize purse for the Masters division is $242,832 with the top payout going to first place in the 35-39 year-old division.
Below is the email from the CrossFit Games team outlining the payout by place and division…
Timing
The 2026 CrossFit Games rulebook stated that the prize purse and payouts per placement for each division were to be released PRIOR to the start of the competition. CrossFit did not meet this self-imposed deadline for any of the divisions – individuals, teams, masters or adaptive.
You can see a screenshot of the rulebook in the Instagram post below.
Prize Purse Calculation Discrepancy
Last week I questioned the payout to James Sprague, Aimee Cringle and CrossFit Whip. Based on the giant checks presented at the podium ceremony, the prize money did not align with the prize purse example outlined in the rulebook. On top of that, the payouts between individuals and teams did not align to the same number of Open registrations.
You can read about that here.
Now that we have the Masters prize money, it appears that the calculation ties out to that of the individuals. It still does not tie out to the teams.
CrossFit is indicating that only 242,832 people registered for the 2026 CrossFit Open.
However, a count of the Open leaderboard on the CrossFit Games website clearly shows that over 253,000 people registered for the Open. When adding in the adaptive athletes on Competition Corner, that rises above 254,000.
The question is why is the prize money below the example set forth in the rulebook based on 250,000 registrations? That question has yet to be answered.
