Dennis James was joined by regular brothers in iron, Milos “The Mind” Sarcev and Chris Cormier on Episode 233 of The Menace Podcast, and they discussed the breaking news that the winner in the open division at the 2026 Arnold Classic will take home $750,000.
The first official Arnold Classic made its debut in 1989 and was won by Rich Gaspari, who took home $55,000 for his efforts. That same year, the already hotly established Olympia contest awarded $170,000 to winner Lee Haney. But that gap has been getting as slim as some of the waists on stage. The top prize for Mr Olympia in 2024 was $600,000, meaning that unless the purse is increased, The 750K Arnold check is now the richest prize.
It’s a “pissing contest,” remarked Sarcev with his special brand of honesty. “Look, we were fighting for 100 and $130,000,” laughed host Dennis James. Of course, the industry is now buzzing with anticipation over how the Olympia contest will respond. “And now… if it goes up to a million dollars, that means second place would be half a million probably,” said James, commenting that if you increase the top of the scale, then you have to increase it a little for everyone else. “But what I see happening here is The Arnold is trying to compete with the Olympia when it comes to prize money as the most prestigious show,” added James. “We know the Olympia is the most prestigious show, because the Olympia was all these years, sixty years.”
James speculated that the late Joe Weider may, at one time, have had a deal with Arnold Schwarzenegger to make sure that the bodybuilder-turned-actor didn’t compete with the Olympia prize money. But that deal seemed to have been thrown out of the window when Arnold hit the $500,000 threshold. Last year however, the battle of the bank was still won by the Olympia, as the top prize was increased to $600,000.
What does the $750,000 prize money for the 2026 Arnold mean for bodybuilding?
“So, now Arnold goes in and says it’s 750k,” explained James. “What does that mean? Is prestigious [meaning] the one that pays the most? Or is the most prestigious show, will it always be the Olympia because ‘it’s the Olympia.’”
Sarcev answered that people tend to go wherever the money is, so perceptions can change over time. “It’s exciting times to be a bodybuilder,” he noted. “Dennis, when you and I starting, if there was prize money it was just like a little bonus,” reflected Sarcev. “Chris (Cormier), he was more consistent, you were always in the money.” Still, Cormier appeared aghast at the money some competitors are making these days, agreeing with “The Mind” that Mr Olympia could soon hit $1,000,0000. The panel noted that while the total prize purse for The Arnold has increased, just how this will be distributed among other placings is not yet public information.
Of course, another testy issue is the difference between what the men and the women are paid, and it’s a complex subject that was brought to the surface in a recent post by female Olympia icon, Linda Murray criticizing Arnold for making an announcement that didn’t include the girls.
To watch the complete episode, where the guys also discussed how competitive bodybuilders deal with carbs before hitting the stage, and Sarcev’s beef with Giles Thomas over whether or not Ugolnikov “Goodvito” Vitalii should have competed at the 2025 Pittsburgh Pro, see below:
