USA’s delegation sail in a boat along the river Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024.
Zhao Dingzhe | Afp | Getty Images
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee on Wednesday announced a $100 million grant to provide long-term financial support for future Olympic athletes.
The gift, the largest donation in the organization’s history, comes from Ross Stevens, founder and CEO of asset manager Stone Ridge Holdings Group. It comes as awareness grows of the financial burden that many Olympic athletes face: Rigid training schedules often come at the expense of traditional career paths with financial savings.
As part of the gift, every Olympic and Paralympic athlete who participates in the 2026 games in Milan and future games through at least 2032 will receive $200,000 in financial benefits. The six-figure award is paid out per Olympic games that the athlete competes in, and there is no maximum.
“Because of Ross’ extraordinary generosity and philanthropic creativity, we can create more than a financial safety net — we can build a springboard that will propel these athletes to even greater heights beyond their Olympic and Paralympic careers,” USOPC Chair Gene Sykes said in a statement.
There is, however, a catch: The money isn’t coming right away.
The first $100,000 doesn’t kick in for 20 years after the games or until the athlete turns 45, whichever comes later. It will be distributed over four years but can be used for any purpose “such as starting a business or supporting their families,” the USOPC suggests.
The remaining $100,000 will be given to eligible athletes’ families upon their death.
“This is an incredible gift that will pay enormous dividends for these athletes later in life,” said Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the USOPC. “That does not replace the idea of also trying to generate philanthropic funds for athletes now and today, and we are doing that as well.”
Hirshland said while there are some Olympic athletes raking in big money in endorsement deals, the vast majority of Olympic athletes don’t fall into that category.
“There’s no salary that comes along with these roles, there’s certainly no retirement program,” she told CNBC.
The U.S. is unique in that 100% of the work the USOPC does is privately funded. Many countries have sports ministries that operate and fund their Olympic teams.
Some other nations also pay handsome sums for Olympic competitors who bring home a medal. Medalists can earn as much as $750,000 for gold in some jurisdictions.
Typically, the U.S. delegation has about 1,200 athletes, among the largest and often by a wide margin.
“We also have the most successful team in the world and over history, a vastly larger group of competitive athletes than most countries,” Hirshland said. “So the scale and scope of what we do here is vastly different than many of our peers around the world.”
Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.
