The payment is on a sliding scale, but the top fighters can pick up the equivalent of $25,000 per 'corrida', or afternoon of fighting. Apprentices start on very ppor wages, but are attracted by the potential for fame and fortune. By the nature of the job, a natrual 'selection process' ensures that only the good fighters make it to the top, in a sport that is known by the Spanish as 'indefensible, but irresistable'.