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Chad Johnson and Shannon Sharpe are vowing to hand $25,000 payouts to US gold medalists at the Paris Olympics. The duo said as much during a recent podcast segment.
The former NFL stars want to see Team USA succeed, and they’re offering an incentive!
Sharpe and Johnson were never able to compete at the Olympic level despite being at the top of their respective sport. While they never had an opportunity to showcase their talents at this type of global level, they both banked a small fortune for their play on the gridiron.
The lack of Olympic experience has led to a recent revelation. Sharpe and Johnson are just finding out what each medalist gets paid by the United States for their success in Paris.
@forbes How much money will Team USA gold medal winners earn? 🏆 #parisolympics #olympics #teamusa ♬ original sound – Forbes
The US pales in comparison to some other countries around the world, offering $37,500 to gold medal winners. That number drops to $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze.
For comparison’s sake, countries like Singapore and Taiwan pay out more than $600,000 for gold.
Chad Johnson and Shannon Sharpe weren’t happy to learn about the US gold medal payouts!
They want to bring US athletes closer to those top countries, and they’re offering their own support.
“You done bust your a– for four years straight to represent our country, and the payout saying, ‘Thank you for the work you’ve put in,’ is $37,000?” Johnson asked. “C’mon man.”
@nightcapshow_ a US gold medal🥇 is worth how much?? 🤯 #shannonsharpe #ochocinco #nightcapshow #olympics ♬ original sound – Nightcap
The two offered to pay $25,000 each to gold medal winners, and $50,000 for record-breaking performances.
That said, it could land them in quite the hole when the Paris Olympics are finished.
In Tokyo, the US won 39 golds. That equated to nearly $1.5 million in gold medal payouts at $37,500 apiece. For Sharpe and Johnson, at $25,000 each, those 39 golds would come out to a combined 1.95 million!
Is the duo ready to hand out $975,000 each? We’ll see if they honor the commitment!