Ask a tennis fan how much Billie Jean King won in the Battle of the Sexes, and most will say "$100,000." That's right, but it's only part of the story.
I went through the numbers. The headline figure is real. The side money is where it gets interesting.
The Headline: $100,000, Winner Take All
On September 20, 1973, King beat Bobby Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 at the Houston Astrodome. The match was billed as winner-take-all for $100,000.
That's roughly $730,000 in 2025 dollars, by one estimate.
King took the check. It was handed over by boxing champion George Foreman.
The Extra Money Nobody Mentions
The $100,000 wasn't the only cash on the table.
Two sources report both players also got $75,000 each just for showing up, on top of the winner's prize. Treat that figure as reported, not audited.
Riggs had a side deal too. He was paid $50,000 to wear a yellow Sugar Daddy candy jacket for the opening of the match. He took it off after three games.
He also bet heavily on himself and put his own money into the event. I couldn't find a confirmed amount.
What Happened Earlier That Year
The King match only happened because of what Riggs did to Margaret Court in May 1973, in what became the Mother's Day Massacre.
One account says that match had $10,000 at stake for the winner. Another says Court accepted a $20,000 guarantee. Reports differ, so I'd call it somewhere between those two numbers.
Either way, it was far less than what King played for.
The Real Payday Came After
King's biggest win wasn't the check. It was the next year.
Her income reportedly neared $1 million in 1974. She picked up endorsements from Adidas, Wilson, Colgate, and Sunbeam.
The crowd and the audience were huge too: more than 30,000 fans in the Astrodome, and an estimated 50 million TV viewers in the US and 90 million worldwide.
The Bottom Line
The winner's check was $100,000. Add the reported appearance money, and the full pot was bigger.
But I'd argue the money was never the point. King was fighting for how women's tennis got paid and respected. The endorsements and exposure that followed were worth more than the cash.
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