(Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
The 2024 Paris Olympics are in full swing, and pretty much everyone I know has been watching the action. Even if you're an Olympics expert, you might not know how much Olympic winners are paid. It might even surprise you that winners are paid anything. There's an assumption that Olympic team USA winners are paid in the form of endorsements and lucrative advertisement deals, but they actually also get paid from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee if they get a medal.
How Much Are Team USA Olympic Winners Paid?
When athletes bring home a gold, silver or bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, they get more than just bragging rights. They also get some money. Of course, this varies based on where the athlete is from, but in the U.S.A, it's standard for 2024. According to the experts at Forbes.com, for Team USA athletes, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee gives gold medalists $37,500, silver medalists $22,500 and bronze medalists $15,000.
That's a nice bit of cash for some of the athletes, but for others who make way more than that with their "day jobs," such as the Team USA basketball players, that's really not much. Still, it's the experience that counts.
You might think the United States provides the highest payouts for winners, but that's far from the case. A survey from USA Today Sports notes that athletes from countries such as Malaysia, Morocco or Serbia would earn roughly $200,000 for bringing home the gold. They also note that at least six other countries, including Italy, give more than $100,000. Other countries, according to reports, also throw in housing, vacations, extra cash for breaking Olympic records and more.
Forbes.com does add that even though the United States payouts might seem small for Olympic winners, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee offers eligible athletes and their dependents a healthcare package, which really sweetens the deal. That deal includes therapy, medical care, mental health, vision and the ability to go to three top sports medicine clinics in California, Colorado and New York.
I'm happy to see that athletes are being paid something for their hard work and dedication. After all, many of the athletes we're watching in the Olympics have day jobs, often more than one, to make ends meet. They train hard during their valuable free time, and all of us get to witness those results every few years at the Olympic Games. Reach out to me with your thoughts on what Olympic winners should get paid.
