Shannon Sharpe and Chad ‘OchoCinco’ Johnson said they will each pay U.S. track athletes $25,000 if they win gold at the Paris Olympics.
Sharpe and Johnson made the pledge during their Nightcap podcast on Monday night after discussing that American athletes would earn $37,000 for winning gold at the Olympics. They considered that figure unfair for four years of hard work.
“Hey, Noah Lyles, if you win the 100 meter gold, me and Ocho $25,000 apiece,” said Sharpe, an ESPN analyst and Pro Football Hall of Famer.
“Bet. You know I don’t like to spend money,” said Johnson, a former NFL star receiver.
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“Noah Lyles trained four years for nine seconds,” Sharpe added.
“Noah, we got you,” Johnson said.
Sharpe and Johnson also mentioned U.S. track stars Sha’Carri Richardson and Sydney McLaughlin Levrone during the podcast.
Sharpe went on to say he would pay $50,000 to any American to break a world record — “I don’t give a damn what the event is — out of my pocket,” he said.
“You done bust your ass for four years straight to represent our country, and the payout, saying, ‘Thank you for the work you put in is 37 (expletive) thousand,’” Johnson said. “Come on man.”
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