It should come as no surprise that athletes—especially those that compete in the Olympics—take home more than just a medal for their outstanding performances. While many of these athletes serve as sponsors for popular brands, they also rake in a hefty amount of revenue simply from winning. In fact, an American athlete who takes home a gold medal can earn a whopping $25,000. Crazy, we know.
In addition to product endorsements and sponsorships, athletes receive prize money from their respective country’s Olympic committee. In addition to awarding $25,000 for a gold medal, The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) also provides $15,000 for silver medalists and $10,000 for bronze medalists.
If our calculations are correct, that means Michael Phelps earned $140,000 from his six total medals at Rio. Based on that number alone, we can’t imagine how much prize money Phelps has earned from his 20+ Olympic medals.
Of course, that paycheck isn’t for nothing—the cost of training, no matter what sport you’re in, is hefty, especially at that level. Olympic athletes have actually been awarded money in exchange for their superior performances since 1994, when the USOC launched “Operation Gold.” The operation was launched as a way to help cover athletes’ training expenses. And not that anybody needs extra incentive to ~go for the gold~, the payoff is definitely a nice bonus!