One may think that Sha’Carri Richardson brought home a nice amount of money due to medaling in both of the events she participated in, silver in the Women’s 100 meters and gold in the Women’s 4×100-meter relay. While she did bring home some cash, it may not be as much as some may think.
While athletes on Team USA aren’t paid to compete in the Olympics specifically, they are given bonuses for winning medals. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee gives out $37,5000 for winning gold, $22,500 for winning silver, and $15,000 for winning bronze medals.
Meaning that Richardson earned $60,000 from the U.S. Olympic Committee
But just this past April, World Athletics, the governing body for track and field, announced that they would pay athletes who won gold medals in their events. Athletes who won gold in solo events would get $50,000 and relay teams would have to split the $50,000 evenly between team members.
Meaning that Richardson likely made $12,500 from the gold she won in the women’s 4×100-meter relay. Altogether, that’s around $72,500 Richardson made from medaling in the Olympics, which isn’t a lot considering she’s an internationally known athlete who is one of the best in her sport.
But it doesn’t mean that she’s hurting for money. Richardson likely made more money from her endorsement deal with Nike than she did from winning gold and silver.
She was in many of the shoe company’s biggest commercials. Not to mention, in December 2023, she reportedly signed a five-year, $20 million contract with the Swoosh, making her one of the brand’s marquee athletes regardless of the sport.
