For the first time World Athletics will pay gold medallists money, is this a thin edge-of-wedge scenario?

© Copyright – 2024 – Athletics Illustrated

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) continues to uphold the original idea behind the Olympic Games. Mainly, that no money is paid to athletes from the Games. It is charming. However, the athletes can earn lucrative endorsement contracts, and bonuses by performing well at the Olympics from sponsors and governments. The inclusion of some professional athletes has changed the Games. For example, NBA players in 1992 Barcelona and NHL players in Nagano in 1998, meant that millionaires walk amongst struggling athletes. There is only one Simone Biles, one Noah Lyles, and one Eliud Kipchoge. Many finishing behind them are anonymous and not necessarily making a living from their sport.

Not only do NBA and NHL player contracts dwarf the earnings that, for example, rowers or runners take in, the endorsement contracts can often be much bigger than the salary. The chasm is massive.

World Athletics has stepped forward to offer $50,000 USD (£38,700, €46,000) to gold medallists.

Professionalism

The IOC does claim to redistribute 90 per cent of Games revenue into the National Olympic Committees (NOCs). The NOCs have agreements with federations. For example, the USATF in the US, Athletics Canada, British Athletics, and Athletics Kenya to name a few.

Broadcast revenues from the past three Summer Olympic Games were: 2012 London $2.6 billion, 2016 Rio $2.9B and Tokyo $3.1B. Expect Paris to be bigger yet. Broadcast and streaming revenues are a portion of the gross dollars that are invested. There is revenue from sponsors, ticket sales and merchandising. Little of the revenue goes to the host city. The IOC walks away with the lion’s share of the money and redistributes. It is up to the NOCs and International Federations (IF) to distribute. World Athletics (WA) is the first IF to offer prize money for gold medals. WA will expand the offer to include silver and bronze medallists at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Paris’ numbers

Paris budgeted $8 billion for the 2024 Olympic Games when it won the bid competition in 2017. The city has since upped its budget by several billion dollars. Costs are split between operating expenses and new infrastructure, according to an S&P Global Ratings analysis.

Organizers say the decision to rely almost entirely on existing venues has held down costs. For example, those built for the annual French Open and the 2016 European Football Championship. The Games will also be spread out to stadiums in other French cities, including Lyon, Marseille, and Nice. But Paris has still spent $4.5 billion on infrastructure. This includes $1.6 billion for its Olympic Village, whose price is at least one-third more than it originally budgeted. Olympic Villages are often used for housing post-Games.

In short, a tremendous amount of money is being poured into the Games and mass volumes of revenue against costs are being line-itemed. One hundred per cent of the draw to the Games is being generated by the athletes competing. Many of whom will make no money.

World Athletics to pay gold medallists

World Athletics confirmed earlier this month it would provide a US$2.4 million prize pot for this summer’s Olympics. This makes it the first IF to award prize money at a Summer or Winter Games. Gold medallists will each receive US$50,000 in prize money. It is likely that the gold medal winners are already earning healthy incomes for their personal brands and race circuit income.

The awarding of prize money will be subject to ratification. This will include medal-winning athletes undergoing and clearing the usual anti-doping checks. Note that the statute of limitations on re-testing stored samples is eight years. Going after the money years later will be a lost cause.

It can be argued that the reason certain nations have major doping issues is related to money and little else. So, the question remains will the offer of prize money cause a surge in doping? Or is doping at an inflection point now where it is moot? Also, is the offering from WA the thin edge of the wedge? Will the floodgates soon open to fully professionalize the Games? Is this a good thing?

Five billion people will watch the FIFA World Cup. The World Cup is the second-largest sporting spectacle in the world. Almost 100 per cent of football players earn salaries from professional contracts. Viewers do not seem to be turned off by the vast sums of money being spent and made around FIFA. The same can be said of the NFL’s Superbowl or the NHL’s Stanley Cup run. It seems more likely that fans hold rich players to a higher standard.

The offering of $50,000 for gold medallists at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games may one day be viewed as a very small and insignificant gesture. On the other hand, it may end up being a watershed moment.