(The Center Square) – Top prize of more than $6.5 million in one of the world’s oldest and richest sportfishing tournaments, and a big draw for the No. 7 domestic tourism state in the nation, stayed in North Carolina.
Connor Daniel’s catch of a record 919.9-pound blue marlin on Tuesday remained the heaviest through the close of the 68th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament on Saturday. Forty-seven winners across the tournament’s many categories shared in the better than $9 million purse, two-thirds of which went to the 63-foot Jarrett Bay vessel out of Wilson County.
In addition to heaviest, it was the first of 500 pounds or greater brought to the famed scales in Morehead City along the Crystal Coast, earning the Fabulous Fisherman prize.
More than 270 boats entered, coming from as far away as New England, Florida and even around the gulf to Texas.
For context on the prize money shared by Capt. Cameron Guthrie and anglers Daniel, Conner Daniels and Carly Guthrie, the PGA Tour’s TOUR Championship pays about $18 million for winning the FedExCup.
But elsewhere, the Big Rock is beastly in comparison. The U.S. Open tennis tournament pays $5 million to the men’s winner; the Masters golf champion earns $4.5 million; and the Stanley Cup champion’s 27-player roster will split about $6.5 million.
The New York Knicks’ Saturday win of the NBA Finals earned a split of about $20 million for the 15-man roster. For the World Series last fall, full postseason shares were nearly $485,000 per player. A playoff run climaxing as Super Bowl champions earns players an estimated $375,000 each.
Sports and competitions are big money, and a big draw swelling local and state coffers.
Tourism in North Carolina drew $37.2 billion in spending in 2025, according to the state Department of Commerce statistics released last month. That topped the record of $36.7 billion set a year earlier. The state estimates more than 230,000 jobs are supported by tourism, and local and state government tax revenue got a $2.7 billion boost last year.
The top domestic visitation states are California, Florida, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia. International visitors’ spending in the Old North State was more than $1.1 billion in 2025, the Commerce Department said.
The Commerce Department says payroll directly tied to tourism is about $9.8 billion.
The estimate of spending per day by tourists in the state is $101 million.
