Thu, June 25, 2026
After 130 years, IOC has changed its policy and agreed to pay athletes $10,000 for competing in Olympics
After 130 years, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has agreed to pay athletes $10,000 (£7.600) for competing in the Olympics. For clarity, Youth Olympic Games athletes are not eligible and currently this does not apply to Para-athletes. All Athletes who competed in the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics earlier this year will be the first to receive the grant, regardless of status.
Roughly 14,000 athletes from the Winter and Summer Games will receive the payment, which will cost the IOC roughly $140 million per Olympiad. The $140 million fund will be drawn entirely from the IOC's own Olympic Foundation. If said athletes uphold the Olympic Charter and clean sport, they will secure the payment within 6 months of competing in the Games.
The Head of the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission, Pau Gasol, expressed: “This grant will be available to every Olympian…Not just medal winners, not just athletes from certain countries, every Olympian. Because while every athlete’s journey is different, every Olympian has made sacrifices to reach the Olympic stage, years of dedication, years of hard work, years of believing in a dream.”
In relation to National Basketball Association (NBA) athletes, Gasol, a Spanish former professional basketball player who played in the NBA for 18 seasons himself, said the following about the NBA stars who are among the highest-paid athletes in the Olympics: “It’s really their right to use that grant, and hopefully we’ll provide them with great options for them to use it wisely in a way that is very satisfying and rewarding for them.” There is an option to leave your grant in the central fund to directly benefit future lower-income Olympians.
Gasol elaborated: “Let it be clear, this is not prize money…This is about recognising the journey and the commitment that it takes to become an Olympian. It is about honouring that every Olympian is part of our Olympic community. Those who have come before and paved the way so that current and future generations of Olympians can benefit. I know this initiative will make a real difference in the life of many Olympians around the world.”
IOC President, Kirsty Coventry, expressed: “This is not the end…This is the beginning of this next chapter, and we’re very clear on the strategic frameworks and the strategies that we want to put in place.”
World Athletics President, Sebastian Coe, who helped enable track and field winners to be awarded $50,000 at the Paris Games, praised the IOC’s latest grant development: “This is a historic moment for the movement and I’m absolutely delighted to be in the room when this has been announced.”
