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JUMP TO:
- Do Olympic athletes get paid?
- What Olympic athletes are paid, by country
- Do Olympians pay for their travel?
- Do Olympic athletes get paid to train?
- How much can Olympic athletes earn from endorsements?
Olympic athletes are on top of the world for two weeks, often whether they win a medal or not. What about the other 50 weeks of the year, and the three years that follow?
For most Olympians, the lifestyle isn't entirely glamorous. Many of their sports don't correspond with salaried leagues, such as the NHL, and training as intensely as most athletes do often comes at a financial cost.
Do Olympic medal winners walk away with something for their success on the world stage? The answer is complicated.
Here's what you need to know about Olympian salaries, prize money and bonuses.
MORE: 10 highest-paid athletes at 2026 Olympics
Do Olympic athletes get paid?
Olympic athletes do not get paid directly for competing or even winning a medal.
How much an Olympian gets paid for winning a medal, if at all, depends on their own country's National Olympic Committee (NOC). Individual countries have different policies regarding prize money and bonuses for Olympians, ranging from impressive bonuses to no financial prize at all.
Of course, endorsement deals are also one way for athletes to get paid, outside of salaried leagues such as the NHL. Stars such as Chloe Kim and Eileen Gu don't necessarily have a salary because that is the nature of their sport, but each has a net worth of seven figures or more because their success and platform allows them to land massive brand deals.
MORE: Why Eileen Gu competes for China, not United States
Are Olympic athletes paid by the IOC?
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not pay athletes. Any money Olympians earn comes through either endorsement deals, sponsors or bonuses provided by their own country's Olympic body.
What Olympic athletes are paid, by country
Here's a look at the Olympic prize pools for notable countries, according to USA Today:
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Hong Kong | $767,747 | $383,377 | $191,938 |
| Kazakhstan | $250,000 | $77,000 | $26,000 |
| Poland | $211,268 | $169,000 | $124,000 |
| Italy | $209,804 | $104,924 | $69,946 |
| South Korea | $208,000 | $139,000 | $70,000 |
| Czechia | $117,816 | $88,362 | $59,918 |
| Spain | $111,818 | $57,110 | $35,674 |
| France | $94,990 | $47,495 | $23,749 |
| Switzerland | $64,854 | $51,889 | $38,917 |
| Finland | $59,385 | $35,621 | $23,747 |
| United States | $37,500 | $22,500 | $15,000 |
| Germany | $35,674 | $23,747 | $11,892 |
| Netherlands | $35,674 | $17,838 | $8,920 |
| Japan | $33,000 | $13,000 | $7,000 |
| Austria | $23,747 | $20,229 | $16,659 |
| Canada | $18,369 | $14,695 | $11,023 |
| Denmark | $15,933 | $11,950 | $7,965 |
| Australia | $14,111 | $10,587 | $7,058 |
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Which countries do not pay Olympic athletes?
Some countries do not award financial prizes for Olympians at all. Norway, which routinely finishes near or at the top of the medal count at the Winter Games, does not give out bonuses for medalists, but the country's Olympic committee does provide a stipend to some athletes for training and medical services, according to CNBC.
Other countries also offer financial support to prospective Olympians but do not dole out bonuses, including the United Kingdom. China, meanwhile, doesn't have a national prize money system, but some local provinces may provide prize money.
How much does the U.S. pay Olympic athletes?
American athletes earn $37,5000 for a gold medal, $22,500 for a silver medal and $15,000 for a bronze medal.
Do Olympians pay for their travel?
Olympians' expenses are generally covered as it relates to travel to and from the games, food in the Olympic village and housing in the village, whether through NOCs or team sponsors.
If NOCs cannot cover expenses, they can apply for financial assistance through the IOC. The IOC says it can provide limited subsidies for travel expenses for athletes, team officials and NOC officials.
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Do Olympic athletes get paid to train?
Olympic athletes can get paid to train, but the IOC itself does not offer up any money.
Instead, Olympians and prospective Olympians often depend on sponsors to cover their training expenses. NOCs can also offer financial support for athletes, but it is not guaranteed.
Some athletes go unsponsored, which could force them to take on additional jobs or even crowdsource money from fans. After asking fans for financial support on social media ahead of the 2024 Olympics, American water polo's Maggie Steffens received funding along with the rest of her team from rapper Flavor Flav.
The story had a happy ending for Steffens and her team, but many prospective Olympic athletes know they might have to fund their own training.
MORE: Most gold medals in Olympics history
How much can Olympic athletes earn from endorsements?
There is no technical limit to what an Olympian can earn through sponsorships and endorsement deals, but not all of the 2,900 athletes competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics, for example, have enough of a platform to command significant endorsement deals.
Endorsement deals only loosely correspond with success. More important is the kind of audience an athlete has, and the vast majority of the nearly 3,000 Winter Olympics athletes do not have global popularity, to say the least.
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