Dire financial straits are leading droves of Olympic athletes to sell images of their bodies to subscribers on OnlyFans — known for sexually explicit content — to sustain their dreams of gold at the Games. As they struggle to make ends meet, a spotlight is being cast on an Olympics funding system that watchdog groups condemn as “broken,” claiming most athletes “can barely pay their rent.”
The Olympics, the world’s biggest sporting stage, bring in billions of dollars in TV rights, ticket sales and sponsorship, but most athletes must fend for themselves financially.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not express concern about the situation. When asked by The Associated Press about athletes turning to OnlyFans, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said, “I would assume that athletes, like all citizens, are allowed to do what they can.”
Watching his sponsorships dry up and facing mounting costs, Jack Laugher was among the pantheon of Olympic athletes using the often-controversial platform to get to the Games — or simply survive.
I mean at the end of the day athletes are entertainers. And just like actors or singers, it doesn’t matter if you’re very good at what you do if you can’t land the paid gigs or sell yourself in some way. And the people making the big money are going to be a small few at the very top.
This is the exact same thing as Superbowl cheerleaders being “paid” with “exposure.” What gig can they land that is bigger than The Superbowl? What gig can the literal best athletes in the world land that is bigger than The Olympics? There isn’t one. The people running both of those events are stuffing their own pockets and treating the people who do the actual work as slaves.
They get a pittance. I had forgotten that they get $100-150 per game.
No hourly, no salary. They are literal gig workers, most of whom make $22,000-$25,000 per year. The ones at The Superbowl, aka the absolute top tier cheerleaders, might make a whole $70,000 a year. They may as well not be getting paid for how little they make compared to everyone else in the industry.
I don’t think it’s right, but:
The top of entertainment. Vast majority compete in sports with little-to-no money in them. Being only a small part of a two-week competition every four years.
Now, personally, I think competing on the Olympics should come with an automatic $50k bonus, but I don’t have control over that.
