Team USA Olympic Winners Got a Raise This Year, but Their Paychecks May Still Surprise You
8 years ago Lily Garner
How much is gold worth? If it comes in the form of an Olympic medal at the Winter or Summer Games, you might be surprised to learn that the answer is not that much. Knowing that, you'd be less shocked to hear that the same goes for silver and bronze winners at the world's most elite athletic competitions.
With just a few days left in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, we decided to take a look at what kind of paychecks Team USA members will be bringing home and how that compares to how well other countries pay their Olympic athletes.
Team USA
US Olympic athletes get a check from the US Olympic Committee (USOC) if they take home a medal in either the Winter or Summer Games. The payment program is called "Operation Gold," and this year, its checks got a little heftier. The USOC will fork over $37,000 for each gold medal, $22,500 for each silver, and $15,000 for each bronze medal win. (Paralympic winners will also now earn $7,500 for gold, $5,250 for s..