Ken Roczen may be the most popular figure in the sport of motocross right now. His social media presence is almost unmatched in our sport, and his personality is as unique as his riding style. Let’s take a look at how the German rider rose to fame in the sports of motocross and supercross.
Ken Roczen and Family
At age 28, Ken Roczen has had arguably the most tumultuous career of any rider in the paddock today. He has come a long way from his childhood in Germany to becoming one of the biggest names in our sport.
Ken, his wife Courtney, and their son Griffin, primarily live on the beach in San Clemente, California. They also spend a good portion of their year in Florida, where Ken currently trains at the Moto Sandbox — Ryan Villipoto’s old facility.
After winning an MX2 championship in the MXGP series in 2011, Ken Roczen decided to take his momentum from Europe to America where he would race for Red Bull KTM under Roger Decoster.
Ken Roczen Net Worth and Career
It’s difficult to tell exactly how much Ken Roczen is worth. Most online sources point to his net worth being between $4 and $5 million, but let’s take a look at a breakdown of how this is likely to be an extremely low estimate based off of the success he had in the 2022 season alone.
| Income Source | Income |
| Race Win Bonus (from Honda for SX and MX) | $200,000 |
| Race Win Payment (from Pro Motocross promoters) | $15,000 |
| Race Win Payment (from Supercross promoters) | $12,000 |
| Race Win Bonus (from Sponsors for SX and MX) | $200,000 |
| World Supercross Win, Championship | $750,000 |
| Salary (From Honda) | $1,500,000 |
| Total | $2,677,000 |
Here are the assumptions I used for the income calculations above:
- Two race wins total: 1 SX, 1 MX
- Supercross win Purse Per Race: $12,000
- Motocross win Purse Per Race: $15,000
- Win bonus from Honda Per Race: $100,000
- Win bonus from sponsors Per Race: $100,000
If Ken Roczen’s income was in the range of $2,677,000 in 2022 alone, his net worth is likely much higher, especially considering his championship years with bonuses of over $1 million!
This breakdown also didn’t even take into account podium bonuses from other races that he placed top 3 in 2022!
With a total of 21 pro motocross 450 wins and 20 supercross wins, Ken Roczen likely accrued about $8,815,000 in race win bonuses throughout his 450 career.
In one race Ken Roczen can make $212,000 if he wins from bonuses.
I understand that many (most?) people are bad with money, especially professional athletes, but given what he earned in 2022 alone, it’s hard to see his net worth only being between $4 and $5 million right now.
Bike and Team
Ken Roczen has been a part of many teams throughout his career and is known for being particular about bike setup.
With Ken Roczen’s height at 5’ 11″, he is of a pretty normal stature for a pro motocross rider. However, he has had to take massive steps to evolve after a nearly career-ending crash at A2 supercross in 2017. Check it out below — it’s pretty gnarly…
Ken Roczen left his CRF450R and Factory Team Honda HRC behind at the end of the 2022 season after a tough negotiating period. Him, his agent, and the team couldn’t come to terms on a contract.
Ken made plans to compete in the new World Supercorss series and this is what likely ended the relationship between him and Factory HRC Honda, since they want their riders to focus solely on the American supercross and motocross championships.
I also believe part of the issue is that Team Honda HRC has a lot of talent right now. Ken’s teammate Chase Sexton is improving significantly. Jett Lawrence is crushing it in the 250 class and is expected to move up to a 450 very soon, and Hunter Lawrence is not far behind his brother — also performing well. These riders performing as well as they are doesn’t give a lot of bargaining power to Ken Roczen.
After the fallout with Factory Team Honda HRC, he boarded the team Firepower Honda for World Supercross.
From there, he went on to ride just about every bike manufacturer under the sun. He rode a Yamaha 450F test bike for ClubMX, a Kawasaki KX450 for Pro Circuit Kawasaki, a Suzuki for Team HEP Suzuki, and even a Stark VARG electric dirt bike (that really got the dirt bike world going!).
Check out Ken Roczen on the Stark VARG bike below:
Ultimately, after all the testing, Ken Roczen has ended up on Team HEP Suzuki for the 2023 season.
Ken currently rides the RMZ 450, a bike he has previously won a championship on.
Ken Roczen’s bike, along with other top riders in the sport like Eli Tomac, Jason Anderson, and Chase Sexton, is estimated to cost upwards of $150,000.
How is a bike that is $8,699 from a dealer modified so much that it costs $150,000? When you consider the suspension costs roughly $85,000 alone, the motor costs $30,000, ECU costs $10,000-$20,000, and other parts, it adds up quickly.
