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Hidilyn Diaz of Team Philippines competes in the Weightlifting – Women’s 55kg Group A on day three of the 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo International Forum on July 26, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Why some athletes earn more
More than 600 American athletes compete in the Tokyo Olympics, and the United States has so far won 11 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze.
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee rewards athletes $ 37,500 for each gold medal won, $ 22,500 for silver and $ 15,000 for bronze. Most of these cash prizes are not taxable unless the athletes report gross income greater than $ 1 million.
American athletes also receive other forms of support, including health insurance, access to top medical facilities, and help with tuition fees.
By comparison, Singapore rewards its gold medalists nearly 20 times more than American players who clinch their first individual gold for the city-state and receive S $ 1 million ($ 737,000). Prize money is taxable and winners are required to return part of it to their national sports associations for future training and development.
The country only sent 23 athletes to Tokyo.
According to Unmish Parthasarathi, founder and executive director of consulting firm Picture Board Partners, the sports economy in the United States allows athletes to better monetize their talents, as most are driven by the private sector.
In places like Singapore, India and elsewhere, many national sports initiatives are led by governments that sometimes use higher monetary rewards to encourage a growing sports culture, he told CNBC.
Malaysia also has heavy rewards for its Olympic winners.
Athletes who win gold receive 1 million ringgits ($ 236,149), while silver winners receive 300,000 ringgits and 100,000 ringgits are given to athletes who win bronze. In dollar terms, a Malaysian Olympic bronze medalist will receive a higher performance award than an Australian or Canadian gold medalist.
How athletes make money
In addition to receiving monetary and non-monetary rewards from their country for winning medals, Olympians rely on other sources of income for their athletic endeavors.
Athletes from larger and more competitive countries receive training stipends or scholarships from their national sports associations. The most successful collect prizes by winning national and international tournaments. Others earn a regular salary from various jobs.
Some, like American badminton player Zhang Beiwen, have reportedly resorted to crowdsourcing to finance their trip to Tokyo. Most of the U.S. team’s athletes are not represented by sports agents, and some have no sponsors or support at all, according to a Forbes report.
Naomi Osaka of Team Japan serves during her Women’s Singles Third Round match against Marketa Vondrousova of Team Czech Republic on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Tennis Park on July 27, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
David Ramos | Getty Images
A handful of athletes can get multi-million dollar endorsements or sponsorship deals, either before competing in the Olympics or after achieving success at the Games. For example, tennis star Naomi Osaka would have earned $ 55 million from the endorsements in 12 months and was named the highest-paid female athlete of all time, according to reports.
But making lucrative deals is rare, and far from the norm.
Parthasarathi pointed out that profitable career development for some athletes is to become a coach after retirement because people are willing to pay a premium for former Olympians.
Disclosure: CNBC’s parent company, NBCUniversal, owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the US licensee to broadcast all Summer and Winter Games until 2032.
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