Shaun White’s gold medal may be priceless, but his skills with a snowboard have netted him a pretty penny.
According to Forbes magazine, White and South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-Na topped the list of highest-earning Winter Olympics athletes, both bringing in $8 million last year. Forbes did not include professional athletes who take home a salary, mostly to exclude NHL and European-based hockey players, who otherwise would have dominated the list.
The top 10 had a decidedly American flavor. Only Yu-Na and German alpine skier Maria Riesch represent countries other than the USA.
After White and Yu-Na, there is a significant drop-off to No. 3, but Lindsey Vonn still raked in a healthy $3 million. Vonn made $2.5 million in endorsements and won another $350,000 in prize money. Fellow skier Bode Miller earned $1.3 million in 2009 and looks to add to that in 2010, as he plans to compete in the USTA’s newly formed national playoff tournament in hopes of landing a spot in tennis’ U.S. Open. Miller’s bank account is nothing to scoff at, but were he to make it to the hard courts of Flushing, it would pale in comparison to the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The money brought in by Olympic athletes often comes as part of lucrative individual endorsements. Multiple teams, notably speed skating and skiing, have had to cut back on how much they pay their athletes due to the recession, prompting their marketable stars to secure other sources of income.
