Rugby star Ilona Maher has recently rocked the dance floor on ‘Dancing With The Stars’ and ended up as a runner-up. Now, she is all geared up to rock on the field again. The USA national rugby player has decided to move abroad and represent one of the top clubs—the Bristol Bears—in the United Kingdom.

When she participated in the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town in 2022, she helped the team to reach the semi-finals. She also won bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics in a team competition and helped in promoting rugby as a sport through her social media presence. However, despite fans being elated to see her play the game again, Maher doesn’t feel very secure, financially speaking.

Maher is a star on and off the field—but is that enough for her?

As Ilona Delsing Rosa Maher’s dancing journey at DWTS has just ended last month, she is all set to step up on the pitch again. And do you know the exciting fact? Ilona Maher will be competing against the USA in the upcoming Rugby World Cup 2025. The championship is scheduled to be held in England. About getting a call for the Bristol Bears, Ilona told the Guardian, “All of a sudden I was getting all of these calls and emails from people saying, ‘We’re hearing you might be eligible to play; you want to come for us?’”

On joining the Bears, Maher said, “I feel like the first day of school. I’m nervous. But this is what I love.” She is excited about the new journey, but she is nervous at the same time because Ilona Maher has been out of touch for many months. As Maher will be playing rugby for Bristol Bears for the next three months, she plans on visiting a sports psych. Maher said, “I think I should still connect with a sports psych because I think it will be like, I am coming to this, and people are expecting things from me. Saying: ‘Oh, it’s Ilona Maher; she’s coming to play rugby, and it’s 15s.’”

She started playing rugby in 2013 when she was 17 years old, and she has been touching heights since then. Maher reflected, “I didn’t want people to think I wasn’t serious because I do social media or social media takes away my impact on the field.” She further says that she loves what she does in the field, but she sees no issue if she can live a comfortable life with a social media presence. Ilona Maher said, “As a female athlete, I would love to just focus on what I am doing on the field, but if I want to live a comfortable life, if I want to make real money, I have to actually do more.”

Now, speaking about Ilona Maher’s income, it isn’t exactly disclosed as to how much she earns. But top rugby players are reported to earn between $70,000 and $100,000 annually. In addition, she gets bonuses for her performances, and the USA offers $37,500 for gold, $22,500 for silver, and $15,000 for bronze to Olympians. Despite playing rugby full-time, Maher takes time to put content on her social media platforms, as it gives her financial support more than she gets from being a rugby player.

Ilona Maher decided to earn through social media

Maher’s presence has helped in promoting rugby, but later she used the platforms to earn extra money for her living. She once said, “First, it was a way to get my message out there, a way to get my team out there, especially in Tokyo; it worked to [encourage] people to tune in to our sport, get eyes on our sport. Then, personally, it’s become a brand-building thing. I’m a female athlete in a sport that’s not very big, especially in America. It’s not a money-making sport. I want to make sports a career, and I don’t think many women can think that way.”

When a player wins any medal or title for a country, they eventually get prize money from the government and from the championships as well. Still, Ilona Maher, like any other sportsperson, faces financial instability as the amount is not up to the mark. That’s the reason she has decided to earn from her social media. As of 2024, Ilona Maher’s net worth ranges between $1 million and $3 million, according to Yahoo Entertainment.

As she is an athlete, she earns via endorsements as well. Recently, she ended up as a runner-up at the dancing show called ‘Dancing With The Stars.’ How much total money she earned from DWTS, the celebrities get a signing bonus starting with $125,000 for rehearsals and the first two weeks. As days passed by, the weekly amount used to increase; for the 3rd and 4th week, $10,000; after that, $20,000; and as she made it to the finale, she must have gotten $30,000 for the next week, and for the semifinals, $50,000. So, it gave Maher good pay that she couldn’t earn only through playing rugby.

The rugby sensation has a huge fan base, be it on the pitch or on her social media platforms. On ‘X’ she has 76k followers, 4.6 million followers on Instagram, and a big community of 3.3 million on TikTok. She earns through collaboration with big brands like Secret, L’Oréal, and New Era. Despite her rugby accolades, Maher has turned to social media platforms to secure her financial stability, leveraging her vibrant personality and digital presence to generate a good income. Well, thankfully, the only way is up from this point onward for our rugby superstar!