Korn Ferry Tour pro James Nicholas has shared yet another fascinating insight into the financial side of being a professional golfer in the US.
The Scarsdale, New York native is a popular figure on social media as a result of his detailed look behind the curtain of his life on tour - which includes deep dives into the money he earns and spends in certain weeks.
Earlier in the year, Nicholas posted a video regarding his expenses and earnings at the US Open after he claimed medallist honors at Canoe Brook Country Club to qualify for his maiden Major.
Then, more recently, Nicholas explained how his best finish of the year worked out for him financially at the Korn Ferry Tour's Compliance Solutions Championship. A T3rd finish saw him triple his previous biggest paycheck and helped the Yale graduate qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Championship.
Although Nicholas failed to break into the Korn Ferry Tour's top-20, which would have earned him a PGA Tour card for next season, he ended the year in a respectable 64th place and was able to reflect on a profitable year on-course.
That was despite spending around $150,000 throughout 2025. His biggest expense - as explained in the video - was on his caddie, who earned around $58,000 for the year. That included a base rate of $37,400 plus almost $21,000 in bonuses.
Many players pay their looper between 5-10% per week in bonuses, depending on how high they finish. But, as is the case with Nicholas, others prefer a flat fee no matter what - providing they make the cut.
The 28-year-old went on to say that he spent nearly $28,000 for accommodation across 26 weeks as he prefers to stay in rented apartments or houses during tournaments.
As a consequence, his bill for groceries and other food came out to $12,800 with his wife - who he labelled an "incredible chef" - cooking a lot of their meals if they didn't go out to eat.
In addition, there was another $17,000 spent on flights. Nicholas said that he likes to fly with Delta and he has free baggage, so it makes sense for him to choose that airline regularly.
The former DP World Tour player also has a YouTube team which follows him around and documents his fortunes, and the total cost of that operation in 2025 was $13,100.
Among his other costs were his mental coach and rental cards, which came out to roughly $10,000 in total, plus several more smaller expenses which nudged the overall figure up towards its $150,000 total.
Certain items that Nicholas does not have to pay for include his clubs and clothes, however, with sponsorship covering the cost that would normally entail.
In terms of earnings, Nicholas collected around $173,500 from Korn Ferry Tour events this season while he also banked an impressive $43,500 or so from his week at the US Open (T61st), which was mainly made up of bonuses from his sponsors.
All told, he picked up $255,057 in 2025, adding up to a total profit of almost $104,000. Although that won't be accurate for everyone, Nicholas' transparency gives fans a good idea of what the average salary of a Korn Ferry Tour player is.
