American athletes who are members of the Athlete Partnership Agreement (APA) with USA Swimming will be seeing their annual support increase from $39,000 a year to $45,000 a year.
USA Swimming CEO Kevin Ring went on the SwimSwam podcast, which was released today, and he announced that the professional athletes who were members of the APA would be receiving a 15% increase in annual support, their first increase since the inception of the APA in 2010.
The exact figures of annual support have never been publicly available before, but a spokesperson for USA Swimming confirmed to SwimSwam today that the top 30 professional athletes of each gender will now be receiving $45,000 a year from USA Swimming.
This is a $6,000 increase from their previous funding amount of $39,000 which had been the figure for the last 15 years.
If we divide this into 12 monthly stipends, professional swimmers went from receiving about $3,250 a month before taxes to $3,750 a month, a little more than 15% higher.
In 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the median earnings for all workers (anyone over the age of 15 who earned money) was $51,370, and the median earnings for full-time employees was $63,360. This figure includes all wages, not just salary (or stipend in this case).
The APA is not the only way professional athletes are able to earn money. Meets like the World Championships and the World Cup have prize money bonuses for top finishes, and there are also World Record bonuses along with other bonuses from USA Swimming based on the USOPC Operation Gold events. They also have access to sponsorships or partnerships with brands to help increase their income.
USA Swimming also increased the amount of athletes who receive this funding to 30 athletes of each gender, a four athlete increase from the 2021 number of 26 athletes each.
Other news out of the podcast was that USA Swimming will be instituting a SCM selection meet for the 2026 SC World Championships.
Watch the full podcast here.
Do we think NIL money some swimmers are receiving exceeds 45k? Wouldn’t that be something.
Most likely
Can we discuss the inflation rate since the program was placed in service? Like in real dollars they have still cut this program by a big number. Also do we know the names of the sixty swimmers receiving the full stipend?
from 2010, COLA for Social Security is up about 40% and the CPI is up about 50% for the same time frame.
It sucks to say but this is a joke! I have lived in a lot of places and in most states that i have lived in its hard to find an apt for less than $1,400 a month, and thats for a one bedroom or studio. Now when you add in food, car payment, phone, and other expenses this is sad. This just shows that they really dont care about the the swimmer
USA Swimming needs to pay swimmers more. But swimmers also need to take some ownership over their own careers and build a brand, or find an agent willing to build a brand for them.
Lebron James makes roughly double his NBA salary in sponsorships annually. But Lebron James is also required to do interviews after every game. There’s a give and take.
It’s a sport for the wealthy. No one can cover all the expenses from this amount. For the most part, swimmers have to pay for it after they retire in delayed or failed careers, loans to pay back, dependence on family and friends and alike.
In some countries (Hungary for instance) it’s an easier choice: if you make it on the international level, you are set for life. (If Lochte were in Hungary, he would be receiving 100s of 1000s a year after his medals from age 35)
It’s weird to me that in a country with a largest wealth and advertising market, and really marketable features, sponsorship on a local, state and national level is so rare.
This isn’t their only source of income.
“…the top 30 professional athletes of each gender will now be receiving $45,000 a year from USA Swimming…”
From what I understand, there are multiple tiers in funding within APA, as it is in other countries.
The 39k (now 45k) is given to US swimmers who have a top 8 world ranking in an Olympic event.
9th to 16th get less and if you are outside of the top 16 worldwide, you get only insurance and access to USOPC, but no money.
To qualify for the US National team you need to be top 6 in the country in an Olympic event, but not everyone on the team makes money.
So I don’t know where this spokesperson of USAS… Read more »
It’s a development program, very different from a business model based solely on sales numbers.
$45,000 per year, along with travel expenses to attend meets, is a nice supplement to the top 60 swimmers’ other income sources.
Crazy that there are some National Team swimmers within the top 15 in the entire world who will not receive monthly assistance this year from USA Swimming—they are literally swimming for the love of it.
I think the most important part of the story is he seems to be listening and transparent.
Honestly that is my biggest takeaway, he seems legitimately passionate about the job for someone who is learning a whole lot about something new. That the most I’m looking for right now and these early quick wins are a good indicator that he has good folks in his ear.
seems to be highly intelligent.
I’d next like to know what calculus they use to determine which athletes qualify. And I’m not suggesting they’re doing anything wrong – I just think it would be interesting.
I was a little wary of Kevin Ring at first because he doesn’t come from a swimming background, but he’s actually getting off to a half decent start. Please keep it up and don’t make me eat my words.
22 swimmers equal one Kevin Ring!! What a deal
Okay you make a valid point. Still, what Ring is getting paid is actually fairly modest for a CEO’s salary.
Dog I think I can make more working at Walmart, I understand they have sponsorships and stuff but do they get that much from that?
Some do, some don’t. Lots of suit contracts have performance bonuses written in. Some athletes hustle for sponsorships, some don’t. Some athletes do a great job and have big social media followings that enhance sponsorships, some don’t.
45K base to support training is not bad. It’s not suppose to fulfill their complete pay, it’s suppose to provide them a base of support in order to pursue their dreams. If you’re a top 30 swimmer you should easily be able to pick up additional income by doing camps, speaking engagements, sponsorships, winnings, etc.