Online news platforms have shared the amounts that Simone Biles and the United States gymnastics team receive for their gold medals, which has sparked a discussion among social media users for a particular reason.
Reports have been released detailing how much money athletes earn for their medals at the Paris Olympics. Upon finding out how much Simone Biles and the rest of the United States gymnastics team earned for their gold medals, many were surprised, with some expressing that the amount was not enough.
It is reported that while the International Olympic Committee does not award cash bonuses for medals, the athletes’ countries reward their athletes with cash bonuses.
According to information gathered by CNBC from national Olympic committees, local reports, and sports associations, the United States ranks tenth in the list of Olympic medal bonuses.
The United States women’s gymnastics team competing at this year’s Paris Olympics, posted on July 30, 2024 | Source: Instagram/olympics and usagym
The country is below Hong Kong, which currently tops the list as the country with the highest payouts for Olympic victories. Its payout for a gold medal totals $768,000.
According to statistics, the ten countries offering the highest gold medal bonuses, in addition to Hong Kong (number 1), are Israel ($275,000), Serbia ($218,000), Malaysia ($214,000), Italy ($196,000), Lithuania ($182,000), Moldova ($171,000), Latvia ($155,000), Hungary ($154,000) and Bulgaria ($139,000).
In addition, France, the host country of the Olympic Games, increased its cash incentives. The country awarded $86,528 (€80,000) for gold medal winners. This amount has been increased from $16,219.20 (€15,000), which the country offered during the Tokyo Olympics.
According to CNBC, the United States pays $38,000 to its athletes who have won gold medals so far. Silver medals bring in $23,000 and bronze medals bring in $15,000.
Simone Biles celebrating her victory during the medal ceremony for the women’s artistic gymnastics team in Paris, France, on July 30, 2024 | Source: Getty Images
In some cases, CNBC reports that some athletes receive additional prizes like cars and apartments from private companies and governments, either in lieu of or in addition to cash.
What’s interesting, and what has become a point of controversy online, is the fact that American gymnasts competing in competitions are not paid, unlike other professional athletes.
In addition, American athletes, in particular, do not receive any money for competing in the Olympics. However, their medal winners receive cash prizes.
According to Forbes, the United States will pay all its athletes who win gold medals a bonus of $37,500, which comes from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Based on Forbes’ ranking of the world’s highest-paid female athletes, calculated last year (2023), iconic gymnast Simone Biles ranks 16th out of 20 female athletes.
She earned a total of $7.1 million when her earnings are added up. $7 million comes from what Forbes calls “off-court” activities and the remaining $0.1 million was earned “on-court.” Biles is tied with Indian badminton player P.V. Sindhu.
Upon learning how much money each country has been awarded for its medal wins so far at this year’s (2024) Olympics, many social media users expressed disappointment in the U.S.’s earnings.
They also commented heavily on the $37,500 bonus the U.S. will award athletes like Biles and the rest of the gymnastics team for winning gold medals.
“This is disgraceful,” one Instagram user wrote in the comments section of a post highlighting the top ten gold medal bonuses by nation. Another said, “The U.S. gets too many gold medals to match that level of payout.”
