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Do Olympic Athletes Get Paid?
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Simone Biles
Simone Biles The legendary American gymnast Simone Biles has earned millions in endorsement deals during her career.

Do Olympic Athletes Get Paid?

And if so, how much?
Written by
Amy Tikkanen
Amy Tikkanen is Managing Editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Amy Tikkanen
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

For athletes at the Olympic Games, medals can bring prestige—and sometimes a payday. While the International Olympic Committee does not pay athletes to compete in the Games, many can earn money in other ways. Numerous national Olympic committees and governments provide financial bonuses to those who win a medal. How much? For the 2024 Paris Games, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) awarded $37,500 for a gold medal, $22,500 for silver, and $15,000 for bronze. Not bad—but those sums are modest compared with the incentives offered elsewhere. Hong Kong had the highest bonuses: $768,000 for first place, $384,000 for second, and $192,000 for third. (Three athletes claimed these hefty prizes—two won gold medals and one captured two bronze medals.)

Some athletes also earn prize money directly from international sports federations. Ahead of the 2024 Games, World Athletics announced that it would offer monetary prizes, becoming the first international governing sports body to do so at the Olympics. Every gold medalist in an individual track-and-field event received $50,000. Shortly thereafter the International Boxing Association (IBA) said that it would also provide bonuses in Paris. Unlike World Athletics, the IBA decided to compensate all medalists, awarding $50,000 for gold, $25,000 for silver, and $12,500 for bronze.

Endorsements can also be windfalls for Olympians. In 2016 Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, the first sprinter to win the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in three consecutive Olympics, had an endorsement deal with Puma valued at $10 million. Simone Biles, widely considered one of the world’s greatest gymnasts, earned about $7 million in endorsement deals in 2023, when she was a four-time Olympic gold medalist. She had lucrative deals with Nike, Visa, and other companies.

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Athletes who do not earn a medal can still receive financial assistance. The USOPC offers grants for education, training, travel, and medical care to all American Olympians. In addition, the organization operates health clinics and provides other services. And some countries offer yearly stipends. Great Britain, for example, offers its athletes annual funding rather than bonuses or monetary prizes.

Amy Tikkanen