Most athletes have day jobs outside of the Olympics training season. For most Olympic athletes, especially those outside of marquee sports like swimming or gymnastics, the only sponsorhip money they will ever see if the money they get during the 3-4 months of Olympic hysteria. These sponsorships are not usually in the six figures.

They take on sponsorships while training so that they can afford to take breaks from their normal jobs to train (though a few employers, such as the HomeDepot, actively recruit Olympians and provide generous training allowances).