Paris Olympics 2024 and Athletes' Pay

The Paris Olympics are currently taking place in France, with the world’s best athletes assembled to compete in track, field, pool and other events until Sunday, 11 August 2024. Celebrated as a prestigious sports event for decades, the Olympics never fail to ignite the crowds. Around 10,500 athletes from 206 nations will compete this year. 2024 also marks the first year of full gender parity at the games, with an equal number of women and men competing.  

But while Olympic athletes bring glory to the country and its people, some also face challenges concerning wages and cost of living. Olympic athletes are not paid to take part in a traditional sense: their main earnings come from the countries they represent, depending on the medals they bring back home. Additional payments come from ponsorships and endorsements. For reference, Singapore awards its gold-medal-winning athletes earns $737,000, while the US awards its first-place athletes $37,000. 

Consistent income is not guaranteed

However, consistent income for athletes is not guaranteed. According to a recent report “Passing the Torch”, 26.5% of high-performance American Athletes earn less than $15,000 a year, while another 10% earn between $15,000-$25,000 per year. While US athletes can enjoy benefits such as tax relief, education funding, tuition grants and more, some athletes also take part-time jobs for additional consistent income.

A report published by the Congressional Commission on the State of US Olympics and Paralympics in 2024, found nearly half of high-performance athletes stated that they did not receive compensation for their participation in the championships. 

And not all athletes score lucrative sponsorship deals, depriving them of that source of income as well. Those in less popular Olympic sports rarely ever get lucrative sponsorship deals. While cost of living has consistently risen over the years, compensation has not. This discrepancy in salaries between Olympic athletes and national-level star-studded sportsmen is an issue that warrants more attention, considering the fact that the Olympic athletes represent their country internationally. While some countries offer compensation to those athletes who do not win medals, the US doesn’t. 

The cost of sports

The above system can also prevent those from lesser privileged households to gain the opportunity to compete professionally, since the cost to work towards becoming a high-performance athlete can significantly outweigh the earnings received after. A study by the RAND Corporation that surveyed approximately 3000 parents highlights that families from lower-income brackets are less likely to involve their children in youth sports, finding financial costs and time commitments to be significant barriers concerning participation in sports activities.

Furthermore, unlike basketball and football which have round-the-year entertainment events, the Olympics only happen every four years. Those athletes who dedicate the whole year on moving further up the ladder are often only paid attention to during the weeks of the Olympics, and dismissed otherwise.