What do you get if you win an Olympic gold medal?

These are small sums compared to Hong Kong, whose athletes receive the largest prize: $768,000 USD for a gold medal. Even Hong Kong’s other medalists earn more than Americans winning gold, taking home $384,000 USD for a silver and $192,000 USD for a bronze.

The United States is home to some of the wealthiest professional sports leagues in the world. Athletes in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL have contracts worth millions of dollars, but even the most successful American Olympians — even world champions — barely earn a tenth of the money paid to athletes in professional leagues.

The reality of the Olympics aren’t as glamorous as the NBC broadcasts might show.

On Aug. 1, American discus thrower Veronica Fraley shared on X, formerly Twitter, that she was struggling to pay her rent, just a day before she was due to compete in Paris.

Luckily for Fraley, rapper Flavor Flav and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian stepped up. Ohanian, the husband of tennis star Serena Williams, replied to Fraley’s post with one of his own, writing: “Come on now! I’ll split it with @flavorflav.”

He later replied with a screenshot of his Venmo transaction to Fraley, which covered half of her rent and more, before posting another message encouraging the discus thrower to “go be great.”

American Olympians making an annual income of less than $1 million are not taxed on their winnings. But if the US men’s basketball team wins a meal, all 12 of All-Stars on the roster will be taxed on their winnings because of their NBA salaries.

While the IOC doesn’t award money to athletes, some other organizations and sponsors may. In April, World Athletics announced each track and field gold medalist will receive $50,000, making it the first international federation to award prize money at an Olympics.

“Athletes are, in essence, the bearers of the revenues that we get,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe told CNBC. “Their performances at an Olympic Games, in our own world championships, provide world athletics with broadcast revenue from the International Olympic Committee and at a world championship level.”

While countries like Hong Kong and Singapore ($745,000 gold-medal prize) give their athletes money, other nations celebrate their medalists with non-monetary gifts.

Polish gold medalists are lucky enough to receive both — they are awarded a cash prize of $63,000 USD, a two-room apartment, a diamond, a painting, and a vacation voucher.

After the 2021 Tokyo Games, Indonesian badminton gold medalists Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu were promised five cows, a meatball restaurant, and a new house. Medalists from Kazakhstan are legally entitled to apartments, with size differing based on the medal earned. In February, Malaysia announced athletes making it to the podium in Paris would receive foreign-made cars.

In South Korea, where there is an 18-month military service requirement for all able-bodied men that must be completed before they turn 28, medalists win exemption from enlistment.

But perhaps the most impressive prize is awarded by the Philippines.

The island nation won its first gold medal in a men’s Olympic event when Carlos Yulo won both the floor and vault events in the men’s gymnastics competition. Yulo’s gold medals are just the second and third won by a Filipino, after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz became the women’s 55-kilogram weight class champion in 2021.

Yulo was originally supposed to receive a two-bedroom condo worth 24 million Philippine pesos, or $415,000 USD, but after his second gold, his nation decided he deserved more. In addition to a 10-million Philippine peso gold-medal award, Yulo will also receive a three-million peso ($51,900 USD) bonus cash prize. The gymnast will walk away from Paris with not only two shiny gold medals, but also a three-bedroom condo worth 32 million Philippine pesos ($553,345 USD).

As the country rejoices in his accomplishment, he’s received lifetime offers of free buffets and ramen from local chain restaurants, and a doctor has promised free colonoscopies and gastroenterology consultations once the gymnast turns 45. Yulo has also been offered various brand ambassador positions, and two coffee franchises from Philippine chain Don Macchiatos.

It turns out it pays to win.

Sarah Barber can be reached at [email protected].