However, if an athlete earns a medal, there is a medal. As a result, some countries have instituted government-backed incentives for medal winners, to encourage greater participation and, in turn, the drive to win national bragging rights. Spending around a month in the Olympic village can be costly for Olympic athletes. Though U.S. athletes aren't paid just for competing, Team USA does issue financial rewards for medaling. Dozens of countries are offering bonuses to athletes who claim one of the 327 medals available across the 15 sports at the Beijing Olympics, which officially kick off with todays opening ceremony. For athletes who win multiple Olympic gold medals, they entitled S$1 million only for the first individual gold medal won at the Games. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. And nothing could be further from the truth. Here, we dive into the math behind 15 Olympians' take-home pay, from hourly wages to multi-million-dollar salaries. Do Olympians get paid? How much do they get for winning medals? - Diario AS Still, these exemptions can be critical for prolonging an athletes career. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. However, the Olympic Committee tends to pay for most of the expenses, such as food, accommodation and transportation. This year, U.S. Olympians can expect to receive $37,500 for each gold medal they win, $22,500 for each silver, and $15,000 for each bronze from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. It can literally be you have a huge following on Instagram, or you can just be so good that it's undeniable. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis. [24][25][26], Prior to the RA 10699, standard government incentives are codified under the RA 9064 or the National Athletes, Coaches and Trainers Benefits and Incentives Act of 2001 which mandates a prize money of 5 million for Olympic gold medalists, 2.5 million for silver medalists and 1 million for bronze medalists. Narrator: An Olympic gold-medal rower told USA Today she receives $2,000 a month. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. This is on top of the grants and benefits like health . In dollar terms, a. Bangladesh, which has never won an Olympic medal, has pledged to pay about $300,000 for gold, about $150,000 for silver and about $100,000 for bronze, according to an official at the national Olympic committee. That makes its bonuses all the more eye-popping: Paying roughly $212,000 per gold, $106,000 per silver and $71,000 per bronze at last summers exchange rateand the same for athletes in team eventsthe nation shelled out more than $9 million for its haul in Tokyo. The United States pays a handsome fee per medal: $37,500 for each gold medal, $22,500 for each silver medal, and $15,000 for each bronze medal. If a team wins, each member gets their own . If competitors have an audience of a few million followers, that's usually enough to attract advertisers' interest. Even if it was half the income, I don't think that I would for regret one moment having participated in sport. A 2012 CNN Report states most American Olympic athletes make $15,000 or less. But Cheung, who had carried Hong Kongs flag during the opening ceremony, did his home territory proud, battling back from an early deficit against Garozzo to become Hong Kongs first Olympic champion in 25 years. 100,000, 70,000, and 45,000, for Gold, Silver, and Bronze, respectively. Of course, athletes only win medals once every four years. The New York Times previously reported that Team USA . Whitmore, the speed skater, explained that financial worries put a lot of extra pressure on Olympians. All Olympic athletes competing for the United States earn a "medal bonus" according to Money Under 30, where they make money for each medal earned for their country. At the 2018 games, the USOPC upped the medal bonuses by 50%. Some of the Korean public wonder if too many athletes are gaining exemptionsskepticism that the Washington Post found was even more marked when the program was extended to specific finishes in the World Cup and other athletic events. Cyprus skier Yianno Kouyoumdjian in the slalom at the world championships in February 2021. Athletes from bigger, more competitive countries receive stipends or training grants from their national sports associations. Compared to the Olympics and their large monetary rewards, Paralympic champions historically have not earned as much for each medal finish. Athletes don't get paid for taking part in the Summer or Winter Olympic Games, but do tend to receive a monetary reward from their country's Olympic committee if they win a medal. Monica: That's my only question over the next three years of, do I continue another three years of being broke? I worked at Panera, a bank. Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant finds himself the subject of controversy yet again after an early morning social media post appeared to show Morant holding a gun inside a club. Some, like U.S. badminton player Zhang Beiwen, reportedly relied on crowdsourcing to finance their trip to Tokyo. Hong Kong hasnt captured a medal in its five previous Winter Olympic appearances, but it did give out the same big prize at the Summer Games last year. Athletes around the world salary ranges from $16,628 to $187,200. That bobsled Lauryn competed in costs about $30,000. The financial strain is huge. Ongoing uncertainty about letting Russian and Belarusian athletes try to qualify for the Paris Olympics affects "less than half" of the 32 sports at the games. Do Olympic athletes get paid? And with the Games about to start, you can expect to see plenty more popping up on Instagram and Twitter. As a nod to the rest of the team that made it to Tokyo, every Hong Kong athlete at the Games is also receiving free train rides for a year. China and Russia, two Olympic powerhouses, have reportedly paid medalists at past Games but were among the delegations that did not respond to requests for comment about their plans for Beijing. 0. In fact, a recent survey conducted by the non-profit Australian Sports Foundation discovered just under half of the 521 athletes questioned were " teetering on the brink of retirement ", taking home less than $23,000 a year. The average salary for volleyball players is $45,722. Russia was runner-up with a $135,000 golden bonus, and France. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. As long as the athlete's other earnings don't exceed $1 million, the medal . [3], According to Forbes, only Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden don't provide monetary incentives for their athletes winning an Olympic medal (as of the 2020 Summer Olympics). And the San Miguel Corporationa large Filipino conglomerateannounced in mid-July that it would match the governments donation amount for every gold medalist. US Olympians . Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz snagged the Philippines first-ever Olympic gold on Monday, ending a 97-year drought and securing the roughly $200,000 official prize on offer from the Philippine Sports Commission. But now, athletes' sponsors can run certain ads during the Rule 40 period. Another source of income is through endorsement deals. But is it worth being broke again? Some other countries similarly offer pensions to medalists, including Croatia, which has had more success on the snow, with 11 medals in its Winter Olympic history. Some Countries Offer Olympic Medalists More Than Glory Gold medalists for the island nation make around $737,000, and payouts even for bronze medals top $180,000. If there are any other additional costs not covered by the committee, athletes must look to their sponsors to cover the expenses. Hungary shells out about $166,000 (plus tax) for gold medalists, $118,000 for silver medalists and $94,000 for bronze medalists, plus smaller payments for athletes finishing fourth through eighth. But her winnings didnt stop there. For example, retired Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has made more than $30 million in one year just from endorsements alone, per AS. Paris Olympics sports bodies seek IOC clarity on Russia Follow The Money, Jenna Dewan Has Legs, Butt In Pole Dancing IG. But every athlete's contract is different. While the International Olympic Committee itself don't provide monetary rewards to Olympic medalists, some countries provide prize money to athletes for winning a medal in the Olympics. The 25th percentile is $29,500, as determined by Forbes. The highest-paid athletes in the United States earn over $100 million annually. Making the podium isnt always the financialor gustatorywindfall you might expect, especially if you compete in a rather niche sport, like say, race walking. Why Don't Olympic Athletes Get Paid? | The Common Sense Network This is a BETA experience. There are much bigger bucks available, particularly from countries that are still trying to make the Olympic big time and arent expecting to hand out medal bonuses up and down their rosters. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee rewards athletes $37,500 for every gold medal won, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze. Narrator: They also have a long list of expenses to train for their sport. Unfortunately, this exacerbates the inequality of the Olympicsonly some countries have enough disposable athletic funding to dole out payments to anyone who trains or wins medals. That can be anywhere from $510,000 per gold medal in Azerbaijan, $180,000 for an Italian gold medal champion, $135,000 for a Russian who takes home the gold or $19,500 for a gold medal winning German. Malaysian gold medalists receive roughly $1,200 in monthly payments for life, Estonian winners receive 4,600 a year, and Indonesian champions get an $18,000-a-year retirement plan. And, that amount doesn't change whether an athlete is competing in an individual or team event, unlike in other countries. The nation also dropped rewards for team officials. Good old spon-con helps many athletes make it big. Individual-sport athletes from Bulgaria are eligible to receive up to about $143,000 per gold medal, depending on the budget of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Monica: I would ref competitions here in New York City, but all of them were canceled, so I wasn't making money from that. In 2016, along with straight cash, the Russian government gave away luxury cars, apartments, and a literal racehorse to various winners for the country at the Rio Games. But each of the young athletes also will receive more than $205,000 for their success. A company covers some of their athlete's expenses in exchange for its logo on the athlete's uniform. Malaysian gold medalists receive roughly $1,200 in monthly payments for life, Estonian winners receive 4,600 a year, and Indonesian champions get an $18,000-a-year retirement plan. Thats a lot of green: The Italians won 28 medals at the 2016 Games, the ninth-most among all countries, and have 20 medals in Tokyo, good for seventh on the table as of Friday night. 1, which, depending on your musical tastes, could be a nice prize itselfor if your preferences are more like mine, maybe a punishment. It's free! Most Team USA athletes are not represented by sports agents and some have no sponsors or endorsements at all, according to a Forbes report. So, how much money do Olympians make?