Ross Stevens donated $100 million to ensure that U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes don’t experience financial insecurity.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government doesn’t fund the country’s Olympic program or pay its athletes — but Team USA athletes at the 2026 Winter Games will get paid thanks to a billionaire’s huge donation.
The U.S. Olympic team announced last spring that Ross Stevens, the founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Holdings Group, had donated $100 million to start a program that will give $100,000 payments and matching life insurance benefits for anyone who earns a spot on Team USA, starting in 2026 and going at least through the 2032 Games.
“I do not believe that financial insecurity should stop our nation’s elite athletes from breaking through to new frontiers of excellence,” Stevens said in a statement when the donation was announced.
The U.S. team is dependent on sponsorship and media deals, along with fundraising. It leads to a system of Olympians and Paralympians who live near the poverty line while chasing their sports dreams, and can end up there in retirement, as well.
The Stevens Financial Security Awards will:
- Pay a $100,000 grant, divided over four years, to every U.S. Olympian, starting with those on the team competing in Italy. That money can be used for any purpose and can be accessed 20 years after their qualifying Olympics or once they reach 45, whichever comes later.
- Pay a $100,000 benefit to a designated beneficiary upon their death.
- Duplicate these benefits for every Olympics an athlete makes, so someone who goes three times would get a total of $600,000 in benefits.
- Be restricted to athletes who make less than $1 million a year, so as not to divert funds to, say, well-paid NBA players or top tennis stars who also compete for America.
- Be funded through at least 2032 with a goal of going beyond that.
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) officially named the 232 athletes who will compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics. All together, those athletes will earn about $46.4 million from the $100,000 grant and life insurance benefit.
The USOPC’s chair, Gene Sykes, called the Stevens donation “the biggest thing that anyone’s ever done to address” the need to help Olympians past their retirements.
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