(NEXSTAR) – The athletes from Team USA are being compensated for their efforts at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Just not as much as the U.S. Olympic committee would like. “We’ve got to continue to make sure that our country’s best athletes choose this, that they choose to invest their time, energy and talent in this movement,” Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, told Nexstar. “And in order to do that, we have to make that worth their while. And we have to make it something that, economically, they can make that choice.” The USOPC, a nonprofit organization in charge of supporting and managing Team USA’s activities at the Olympics, is not funded by the government, but rather the “generosity of the American public and the support of many commercial partners,” according to the USOPC. But since the International Olympic Committee doesn't pay any of the athletes, the USOPC (like many countries’ national committees) allocates a portion of its monetary donations for grants to support participants. They also provide bonuses for those who medal. This year, gold-medalists for Team USA will be awarded $37,500, while silver-medalists will take home $22,500 and bronze-medalists get $15,000. All of the athletes at the games, too, are eligible for $200,000 in grants, though the money isn't provided immediately. The first $100,000 will be paid out (in four installments) to athletes beginning 20 years after their qualifying Olympic Games, or once they reach the age of 45 (“whichever is later,” the USOPC writes). This money can be used for “any purpose,” according to the USOPC. The other $100,000 acts as somewhat of a life insurance payout, to be provided to an athlete’s family “upon their death.” These particular grants are also relatively new, having been announced in 2025 after the USOPC received a $100 million donation from the CEO of Stone Ridge Holdings, a New York-based asset-management firm. In addition to the medal bonuses and grants, the USOPC also provides endowments, tuition grants and financial assistance to athletes who qualify. Hirshland, though, told Nexstar that the USOPC is always seeking more money to help offset athletes’ costs, and to keep them interested in participating. "This is not about making athletes rich. This is about … giving them the ability to earn a living and making sure that they can continue to choose to do this,” she said. “Elite training — obviously varies by sport — but elite training, it’s expensive. And you can’t have a full-time job … and be an elite athlete at this level very easily. So we’ve got to find ways to ensure we provide.” Hirshland also wants the aforementioned medal bonuses to increase, though she didn’t say by how much. (USOPC’s medal payouts aren’t nothing, but they pale in comparison to some of the other national committee payouts. Singapore’s committee, for instance, pays out around $750,000 per gold medal, Fortune reports.) “I’d like [the USOPC’s] bonuses to be more indicative of the level of accomplishment [of] actually earning a gold medal,” Hirshland told Nexstar. “I feel like we understand — as a country we understand and recognize — how significant that is.”