Some well established skiers signed to big time endorsement deals (relative term in this business) have their contest winnings "matched", meaning that their sponsors will pay out bonuses = to their contest winnings.
Dew Tour nets 25,000, X is the same I thought, though it might be closer to 50, so you can see where winning an event can be a big payout after you add in the sponsor's kick down.
Not everyone has this arrangement, and I don't know exactly who does and who doesn't, but last time I cared to investigate, it seemed like this was an "action sports" trend. Makes sense considering there's so much overlap in major sponsors (energy drinks, oakley, nike, quiksilver, target, etc.)