Indy 500 Payout Breakdown: Prize Money & What the Winner Gets

Spring has sprung around the country, which means it's about time for the Indy 500. Held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the famous race is one of the most prestigious in IndyCar Series and serves as a marquee event on the racing calendar every season.

This year is no different. The hype has peaked for the May 25 race as Josef Newgarden attempts to make history and become the first-ever driver to win three consecutive Indy 500 races. There will be much competition to try and unseat the two-time winner, though, and that got started early as rookie Robert Shwartzman won the pole in the lead-up to the race.

Winning the Indy 500 is an amazing accomplishment on its own and the victorious driver will be remembered forever with their name written into the history books. It also comes with a substantial cash prize and other offerings specific to the historic race.

Here's everything the winner of the 2025 Indy 500 will get once the checkered flag is waved.

Indy 500 Prize Money

As one might imagine, it is lucrative to win the Indy 500. Not only does such a victory come with a spike in fame and recognition (and, therefore, an increase in endorsement opportunities), the purse is also quite significant. In fact it's often one of the biggest purses in the sport, with only the Daytona 500 consistently paying out more each season.

As of writing, the full Indy 500 purse hasn't been made available. But based on recent years, it's not too hard to nail down a general range.

For three straight years entering the 2025 race the Indy 500 has set new records for biggest purse. In 2022 the overall purse was set at a whopping $16 million, a huge jump from 2021's $8.8 million. Marcus Ericsson won that year and took home $3.1 million in prize money. Then, in 2023 for Newgarden's first win, the purse clocked in at $17 million; the winning driver took home $3.7 million. Finally, last year, Newgarden earned $4.3 million after winning his second straight Indy 500 title, with an overall purse of $18.5 million.

Taking into account those numbers, it seems likely that if the Indy 500 purse continues to climb this year's race will likely have a total purse of nearly $20 million. It probably will not exceed that number but a purse of between $19 million and $20 million would follow a similar percentage increase as the previous seasons.

Should that prove true, the winner of the 2025 Indy 500 will likely take home at least $4.5 million and as much as $5 million.

What does the winner of the Indy 500 get?

As a unique race in NASCAR lore, the winning driver of the Indy 500 does get more than just the prize money.

In addition to the largest cut of the purse for the race, the winner of the Indy 500 gets a replica of the Borg-Warner trophy. Nicknamed the "Baby Borg," the mini replica is given to the victor as the real trophy is a historical monument at this point; it was introduced as the award for the Indy 500 in 1936. It's also gigantic, measuring in at over five feet tall. Not easy to fit that in the trophy case.

On top of all that, the winner also "gets" a bottle of milk. They do not keep it, as it is tradition at the Indy 500 to chug the bottle of milk in the winner's circle, but it counts as part of the overall prize package.