Why Luke Littler’s net worth will ‘skyrocket’ as he celebrates 18th birthday
Luke Littler is doing very well for himself on and off the oche, with his earnings predicted to ‘skyrocket’ after celebrating his 18th birthday today.
The Nuke turns 18 on 21 January having won the World Darts Championship earlier this month, beating Michael van Gerwen in the Alexandra Palace final.
A year on from finishing runner-up on debut the victory completed a scarcely believable 12 months for the teenager as he went from unknown to household name thanks to his spectacular arrows and all before his 18th birthday.
His understated nature has proved part of his appeal and he gave a typical reaction when asked about his plans for his big birthday.
‘I haven’t got anything planned really because there is a lot of darts around this time,’ he told PA.
‘I will probably just do something at home before the crazy schedule starts. But I gave myself the best early birthday present by winning the Worlds.
‘My first year has been difficult, at the start of the year with the Premier League and travelling to the European Tours, I have been travelling up and down the country. It’s at the start of the year when the crazy schedule is.’
2025 is very likely to be another seriously profitable year for Littler after it started with the £500,000 top prize at Alexandra Palace.
That took his career prize money to over £1.5m already, while the Nuke is not short of sponsorship deals, with the teenager boasting partnerships with the likes of XBox, boohooMAN and KP Nuts to massively boost his earnings.
With all this to his name before he was legally allowed to have a beer, his bank balance has been predicted to change dramatically now he is officially an adult.
Forbes reported in July that Littler’s earnings for 2024 were set to be an estimated $1.5m (£1.2m), including ‘prize money, endorsements, royalties and appearances fees,’ although that turned out to be on the pessimistic side of estimates.
The finance experts suggested this could dramatically increase after Littler turns 18 on 21 January as the range of sponsorships and endorsements he will be able to attract will expand.
The report stated: ‘Littler’s earnings could skyrocket even more once he turns 18 in January — he can’t legally endorse any gambling or alcohol brands yet, which are a big part of athletes’ portfolios.’
Speaking in February last year, Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn said Littler was already breaking new ground in terms of endorsements for a darts player.
‘He’s making a lot of money on and off the oche,’ Hearn told the Love the Darts podcast. ‘It’s the first time really that a darts player has signed Major sponsorship deals with major brands. I mean outside of your PDC partners, outside of your manufacturers and darts companies.
‘This guy is now signing major sponsorship deals with huge companies like boohooMAN and that’s great for darts as well. He’s bringing that new audience and that’s important to us as well. So at the moment the Luke Littler effect, if you like, is great for everybody.
‘Not just Luke Littler, not just the PDC, but for the sport, particularly the players as well. And long may it continue. You know, it doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere.’
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