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U.S. Wrestlers Given Incentive to Bypass Mixed Martial Arts
The gold medal that Henry Cejudo won in freestyle wrestling at the last Olympics sits somewhere inside his sock drawer. USA Wrestling announced this week the creation of a medal fund that would pay wrestlers $250,000 for an Olympic gold medal, $50,000 for a silver and $25,000 for a bronze.
“This is bigger than just wrestling,” Cejudo said Thursday in a telephone interview. “M.M.A. is growing, and it’s a basic wrestling sport,” Cejudo said. This fund will keep wrestlers in wrestling.”
Cejudo made $40,000 — paid by USA Wrestling and the United States Olympic Committee — for the gold. Wrestlers can earn more through private contributions and sponsorships.
In Beijing, Cejudo was the only American to win a gold medal. Wrestling’s incentive program compares favorably with those of other Olympic sports. USA Table Tennis pays $100,000 for an Olympic gold medal, but no American athlete in that sport has ever won one. Most Olympic athletes make their money from sponsorships, and often those sponsors pay bonuses for medals.
