How Much Money Did Michael Phelps Earn In Rio?

Every four years, sports fans all around the world gather together and watch athletes compete in the Olympics. While Olympic athletes certainly compete for the pride of their home countries, Olympic medals also come with financial perks as well.

U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps is the leading individual medalists at Rio so far, pocketing five gold medals and one silver. But how much money have his Rio medals earned him?

For starters, the Olympic medals themselves actually hold some intrinsic melt value, but probably less than you’d imagine.

Gold medals from the Rio Olympics are actually 92.5 percent silver and are worth roughly $600. Silver medals are worth about $325, and bronze medals (97 percent copper) are worth about $3 in melt value.

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The U.S. Olympic Committee pays athletes at the Rio games $25,000 per gold medal, $15,000 per silver medal and $10,000 per bronze medal.

However, the rewards aren’t quite as straightforward as they seem. Athletes must pay taxes on these rewards when they bring them back into the U.S. The rewards are taxed as income, meaning that the rate depends on the rest of the athlete’s 2016 income. For Phelps, who will reportedly earn more than $12 million in 2016, that marginal Olympic income will be taxes at a 39.6 percent rate.

Therefore the quick math on Phelps’ trip to Rio looks like this:

• Melt value of medals: $3,325
• Total cash rewards: $140,000
• Income tax: $56,756
• Total post-tax net income: $86,569

Of course, Phelps’ Olympic earnings pale in comparison to his endorsement deals, but it’s still not a bad payday for two weeks of work.