Curious to know which Olympians get paid the most? Well, it’s not the host country. But shockingly too, some of these Olympians don’t get paid at all. For many Olympic athletes, being an Olympian is just a “side hustle.”
And while they might churn a profit from sponsorship deals with brands, what they do or don’t make from their respective countries could leave you stunned! So, we uncovered just how much Olympic athletes get paid for earning a gold medal depending on what country they represent:
There are quite a few countries who also pay athletes with free-housing or meals for a lifetime, such as Kazakhstan. Others pay precisely $0 both for winning.
Team USA pays its athletes $37,500 for every gold medal, $22,500 for silver, and $15,000 for bronze. Compared to Norway, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Sweden that paycheck is looking pretty lucrative. These four countries do not provide any prize money for any Olympic medals. Instead, they support athletes with a stipend, and training resources to compete and succeed.
And while the country doesn’t pay the athletes, when they do qualify and win at the Olympics, many other monetary opportunities arise.
The country providing the largest paycheck at this year’s Olympics is Singapore. Part of the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP), Singapore provides winners with a very lucrative paycheck of $737,000 for gold, $368,000 for silver, and $184,000 for bronze. France, this year’s host, pays gold medalists $71,200, silver $27,400, and bronze $16,400.
All calculations have been converted from the respective country’s currency to US dollars for relativity. Curious to know how much Olympic athletes get paid for the other 203 other participating countries? Not all countries disclose their payments publicly, but you can find more info on Olympic bonuses here.