Methodology: which figures are published here, and which are refused
This site publishes wealth and earnings figures that exist in a public document, and refuses the rest. That sentence sounds simple and does most of the work, so this section sets out exactly what counts as a document, what happens when two documents disagree, and why estimated net worth is treated as a different kind of statement rather than as a weaker version of a documented one.
The four questions every figure has to answer
Before a number appears on any page here it has to answer four questions. Who published it?, an organisation, named, not "reports suggest". What exactly does it measure?, prize money is not salary, revenue is not worth, a purse to a team is not income to a driver. For what period?, a career total, a season, a single event, a balance sheet date. Can a reader reach it?, a named register, a document title, a filing type, an event date.
A figure that fails any one of those is not printed, however widely it circulates. That is why several pages on this site end in a band, a floor, or the words "not published", those are the honest outputs of the test.
| Tier | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Published register | A total maintained by the body that paid it | Career prize money on a tour’s player record |
| Filed document | Lodged with a public authority under an obligation | A Form 10-K; a state university contract |
| Announced figure | Made public by the payer, with no filing | A club’s transfer fee; an event prize breakdown |
| Estimate: refused | Reported earnings plus guesses, presented as a total | Any “net worth” figure for a private person |
What happens when two documents disagree
Both are shown. There are cases on this site where a governing body and a hall of fame record slightly different career statistics for the same player, and cases where two contemporaneous newspaper reports describe the same contract at different values. In each case the page prints both figures and says who published which.
The alternative: picking the rounder number, or the one that appears more often, manufactures a false consensus. A reader who can see the disagreement knows more than a reader who is handed a single confident figure.
Which source wins when several are available
The order is fixed, and it follows who is in a position to know rather than who is easiest to quote. A total maintained by the body that paid it comes first. A filing lodged under a legal obligation comes next, because it carries consequences if it is wrong. An announcement by the payer follows, since the payer knows the figure but chose what to release. Reporting that relays any of those is last, and is labelled as relaying.
The order matters most where the tiers conflict. A club’s announced transfer fee and a newspaper’s figure for the same move are not equal evidence, and the page says which tier each belongs to instead of averaging them into one number.
What is not covered by this method
Opinion, analysis and prediction. This site does not estimate what a company is worth, forecast an athlete’s future earnings, or rank people by wealth. Those are legitimate activities and they are not documentation.
It also does not cover privacy questions beyond the obvious: where a document is public, the figure in it is reported; where it is not, nothing is inferred from surrounding evidence. About the desk explains how the site is run and what it will correct.
Questions readers send
What counts as a document here?
A total maintained by the body that paid it, a filing lodged with a public authority, or a figure announced publicly by the payer. Anything else (including reported estimates and analyst multiples) does not qualify.
Why do some pages end without a figure?
Because no document exists. Where that is the case the page says so and shows the documented frame around the gap, rather than substituting an estimate.
What happens if two sources disagree?
Both are printed, with the publisher of each named. Picking one would manufacture a consensus that does not exist.
Does a figure stay on the site if the register later removes it?
No. The register is the source of record, so if it withdraws or revises a figure the page follows it and notes that it changed. A number is only ever as current as the document behind it.
The registers behind this page
- 01 Governing bodies, leagues and commissions, That the figure quoted was published by the body that paid it, in the form described Each subject page names its register, the section within it and the year