Can NCAA athletes keep money earned at the Olympics?

Olympians are paid for medaling. But what if they'e still in college?

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. This is FTW Explains: The Olympics.

For many athletes, the Olympics is mostly about trying to win gold while representing their country at the highest level of competition. But there also is a monetary benefit for those elite few able to claim a medal.

Though it varies by country, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee awards $37,500 for gold, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze.

With so many collegiate athletes among those competing in Paris this summer, it’s natural to wonder whether the NCAA will allow them to keep that money if they win. Because, as we all know, the college athletics governing body is stingy about what it considers to be permissible benefits — even after adopting name, image and likeness rules.

The answer is yes.

Thanks to the decades-old Operation Gold Grants program, the NCAA does allow its athletes to accept money from the USOPC for their performance in the Olympics.

But there is a limit. NCAA athletes can only accept prize money from the USOPC and their respective national governing bodies — or their sport’s governing body from their home country. Any money outside of those narrow parameters remains off limits to maintain NCAA eligibility.