Do Olympic Athletes Get Paid?

Technically, no.

Yet some of them do.

And we aren’t talking about Wheaties cereal box–type deals that come after earning fame and a sack of gold medals.

The modern Olympic Games originated in 1896, when winners received a silver medal and an olive branch. That’s because the goal of the Olympics was—and still is—not monetary. The Games were built to celebrate the spirit of sport.

Even the traditional medals—gold, silver, and bronze—did not debut until 1904, and it wasn’t until 1960 that they were designed to be hung around the necks of winners.

There are no Olympic participation medals, and the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) long-standing stance is that the Games should focus on amateur status. In theory, athletes are expected to pursue financial opportunities after the Olympics, not during them.

That reality has changed significantly in recent years.

The NCAA’s decision to allow student-athletes to earn Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) money has reshaped the Olympic landscape for Team USA, where roughly 65 percent of athletes come from collegiate varsity sports backgrounds.

In addition, some Olympic organizations now directly reward podium finishes.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, for example, pays medal bonuses through a program called Operation Gold.

At the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, Team USA athletes earned $37,500 for gold medals, $22,500 for silver, and $15,000 for bronze. While meaningful, those bonuses are modest compared to what athletes from some other countries receive.

Ironically, medal bonuses often benefit the best-funded superstar athletes—those who already have endorsements and sponsorships—while many lesser-known Olympians remain largely self-funded.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, World Athletics (WA), the international governing body for track and field, became the first federation to award direct prize money. A $2.4 million pool was carved out from the IOC’s revenue-share allocation, with gold medalists receiving $50,000.

WA has committed to repeating the program at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and expanding payouts to include silver and bronze medalists.

Not everyone supports the shift.

The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations criticized the move, arguing that attaching a price tag to Olympic medals undermines the spirit of the Games and disproportionately benefits athletes already positioned to earn endorsements.

Olympic Medal Bonuses by Country (Paris 2024)

All figures are approximate and shown in USD.

Country	🥇 Gold	🥈 Silver	🥉 Bronze
Hong Kong	$768,000	$384,000	$192,000
Singapore	$745,000	$373,000	$186,000
Taiwan	$720,000	$250,000	$178,000
Israel	$275,000	$192,000	$137,000
Malaysia	$230,000	$66,000	$22,000
Italy	$196,000	$98,000	$65,000
Spain	$102,000	$52,000	$33,000
France (Host)	$87,000	$43,000	$22,000
United States	$37,500	$22,500	$15,000
Australia	$13,000	$10,000	$7,000
Great Britain	$0	$0	$0
Norway	$0	$0	$0
Sweden	$0	$0	$0

Why Do Some Countries Pay $0 for Olympic Medals?

Some countries do not pay Olympic medal bonuses because they fund athletes before the Games, not after.

Nations such as Great Britain, Norway, and Sweden invest heavily in athlete development through government and lottery funding. This money supports full-time training, coaching, healthcare, sports science, and living stipends throughout the Olympic cycle.

In effect, athletes are salaried to prepare for Olympic success, making post-medal cash bonuses unnecessary.

The “Why” Behind the Numbers

The “Bounty” Model (High Payers)

Countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan use massive cash incentives to chase rare Olympic medals. Because these nations win relatively few medals overall, they can afford to promise extraordinarily large payouts to the athletes who succeed. The approach is high-risk, high-reward and aimed at elevating national prestige.

Taiwan also offers a unique alternative: gold medalists may choose a lifetime monthly stipend—roughly $4,000 per month—instead of a one-time payout.

The “Investment” Model (Zero Payers)

Great Britain, Norway, and Sweden prioritize pre-funding over bonuses. Team GB alone allocates more than $125 million annually through public lottery funding to support athletes long before the Games begin. Success is treated as the result of sustained investment, not a performance bonus.

The “Hybrid” Model (United States)

The U.S. relies on a blended system. Because American athletes win so many medals, large per-medal payouts would be financially impractical. Instead, modest bonuses are paired with NIL opportunities, endorsements, and collegiate scholarships to support athletes throughout their careers.

Weird & Wild Olympic Bonuses

Cash isn’t the only incentive used around the world:

• Kazakhstan: Medalists receive free apartments, with size tied to medal color.
• Indonesia: Past gold medalists have been promised cows, houses, and even restaurant franchises.
• Malaysia: Podium finishers are often rewarded with luxury cars from sponsors.
• South Korea: Male gold medalists receive exemptions from mandatory military service—an incentive many consider more valuable than cash.

The Reality Check: “I Can’t Pay My Rent”

While the payout tables look neat, the lived experience of a Team USA athlete is often chaotic. The most viral financial story of the Paris 2024 Games wasn’t about a gold medal bonus; it was about a discus thrower named Veronica Fraley.

The day before she was set to compete, Fraley posted on X (Twitter):

“I compete in the Olympic Games TOMORROW and can’t even pay my rent. My school only sent about 75% of my rent while they pay football players (who haven’t won anything) enough to buy new cars and houses.”

She wasn’t exaggerating. A 2024 report found that 26.5% of Team USA athletes earn less than $15,000 a year.

• The Resolution: Rapper Flavor Flav and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian saw the post and Venmo’d her enough to cover her rent for the year.
• The Problem: It was a “feel-good” story that highlighted a systemic failure. The USOPC stipulates that athletes are not employees, meaning no salary, no health insurance (unless they hit elite tiers), and no retirement contributions.

How Self-Funded Athletes Actually Survive

If you aren’t Simone Biles or a lucky recipient of a Flavor Flav wire transfer, how do you eat?

1. The “Quarterly” Anxiety: Governing bodies (like US Rowing or USA Fencing) do offer stipends, but they are often tiered by rank and re-evaluated every 3 months. One bad race can literally slash your income by 50% overnight.
2. The Modern “Side Hustle”: In the 90s, Home Depot had a famous program that employed athletes part-time with full-time wages. That program ended in 2009. Today, athletes are driving Uber, coaching CrossFit at 5 AM, or working remote data entry jobs between training sessions.
3. GoFundMe is the New Sponsor: Crowdfunding has become a primary revenue stream. Before Paris, hundreds of athletes launched campaigns just to cover travel costs for their coaches (since the IOC only pays for the athlete, not their support staff).

The “GoFundMe” Economy

The data paints a picture of a “winner-takes-all” economy that mirrors the actual medal stand.

The Numbers:

• Volume: Over 100 Olympic athletes launched GoFundMe campaigns specifically for the Paris 2024 cycle.
• Total Raised: Collectively, they raised over $2 million.
• The Skew: The success rate is heavily skewed. High-profile stories (like Veronica Fraley) raised $23,000+ in hours because celebrities amplified them.
• The Failure Rate: For every viral success, there are dozens of campaigns that stall at $500 or $1,000. A fencer trying to fund her coach’s travel to Paris sat at $800 with two weeks to go. A rower asking for help with equipment shipping hadn’t cracked $600.

Why are they raising money? It is rarely for “spending money.” The vast majority of these funds go to:

1. Coaches’ Travel: The IOC and USOPC pay for the athlete’s flight and bed. They often do not pay for the athlete’s personal coach. If you want the person who trained you for 4 years to be in your corner, you have to pay their $5,000 travel bill yourself.
2. Rent: As noted with Fraley, university stipends often don’t cover summer months or “gap years” taken to train for the Games.
3. Equipment Transport: Bobsledders and pole vaulters often have to pay exorbitant freight shipping costs to get their gear to qualification events.

The IBA’s “Rebel” Cash

Soon after World Athletics announced prize money for track and field, the International Boxing Association (IBA) revealed it would distribute more than $3.1 million in prize money at Paris 2024.

But this isn’t normal prize money. It’s “war” money.

The IOC has stripped the IBA of recognition due to years of corruption scandals, Russian ties, and governance issues. Boxing is currently “homeless” within the Olympic movement—the IOC ran the boxing tournament in Paris themselves.

The Strategy: By offering $3.1 million in prize money (far more than the IOC offers), the IBA is trying to buy the loyalty of athletes and national federations. They are effectively saying, “The IOC gives you a medal; we give you a life-changing check.”

The Scope: Nearly 100% of eligible boxers took the money. The IBA didn’t offer it to a few favorites; they deployed a blanket payout strategy to over 100 boxers. Every medalist and every quarter-finalist received a check (5th place finishers got $10,000). Gold medalists earned $100,000, with payouts split between the athlete, their coach, and their national federation. Silver and bronze medalists received $50,000 and $25,000, respectively.

“Our athletes and their efforts must be appreciated,” IBA president Umar Kremlev said in a statement. “They remain the focal point, and we will continue to support them at all levels.”

The “Trojan Horse” Check: The most controversial payment was offered to Italian boxer Angela Carini, who famously quit her fight against Imane Khelif after 46 seconds. The IBA announced they would pay her the $50,000 gold medal bonus anyway. This was widely interpreted as a political stunt to undermine the IOC’s gender eligibility rules and buy loyalty.

The Athlete’s Dilemma: Very few boxers have spoken publicly against the money because they literally cannot afford to. When you are an amateur boxer earning close to zero, turning down a $25,000–$100,000 check on “principle” is financially impossible.

The Trap: The IOC has issued a lethal ultimatum: any National Federation that remains loyal to the IBA will be banned from the Los Angeles 2028 Games. By cashing these checks, boxers are effectively feeding the organization that might get their sport exiled from the Olympics forever.

The “Medal Tax” (Victory Tax)

One final financial hurdle worth noting is the IRS.

• The Old Rule: Prior to 2016, the IRS taxed medal bonuses as earned income. If you won Gold ($37,500), you owed Uncle Sam roughly $9,000.
• The New Rule: The “United States Appreciation for Olympians and Paralympians Act” was passed to exempt these bonuses from federal tax.
• The Catch: It only applies if you earn less than $1 million a year. Superstars like LeBron James or Katie Ledecky still have to pay taxes on their medal bonuses. For the self-funded archer or shooter, however, the bonus is now tax-free.

Disclaimer: Medal bonus figures vary by country, federation, and Olympic cycle and are subject to change.

Learn More About the NIL Landscape

Name, Image, and Likeness plays an increasing role in college sports, and understanding how it works often requires more than individual articles or news updates.

RallyFuel is a platform focused on NIL-related topics across college athletics. It brings together information about athletes, NIL activity, and the broader structure behind modern college sports, helping readers explore the topic in more depth.

Visit RallyFuel