Gabby Douglas Makes History, and Potential Millions

Yesterday during the women’s all-around gymnastic competition, Gabby Douglas had a chance to win gold for Team USA, and make history. The 16 year-old made it look easy as she vaulted her way to #1 and keeping that spot for the rest of the competition. While fellow USA teammate Aly Raisman stumbled on the beam, Douglas sailed right on past to the winner’s podium. Not only did she take the gold medal, she also went down in history, as the first African-American woman to ever win all-around.

But now the question remains: how much money will this historic win make Douglas?

Probably a lot. In fact, some have suggested that the sum could end up being somewhere in the $10 million range. While that might be hard to believe, considering that the names of Olympic athletes are typically forgotten by spectators almost as soon as their event is over. But it’s always been different for the winners of American’s women all-around competition; and it’s extremely different when you’re talking about a historic win to boot.

It was Dan Migala, representative of the Property Counseling Group, told Forbes that Douglas could stand to earn as much as $10 million during the four-year run up to her next Olympics; but Bob Dorfman, of Baker Street Advertising, says that’s probably a bit high. Even with the cereal, sneaker, and soda endorsements, Dorfman says that Douglas is more likely to earn somewhere around $1 – $3 million during that same time.

“Whoever wins all-around gold becomes the darling of America,” says Dorfman. “That’s the queen of the Summer Olympics. That’s usually where one of the most marketable athletes from the Games emerges, especially with somebody like Gabby who’s really cute, very young, and certainly has the potential to compete again in Rio.”

Throw in the historic aspect, and there’s little doubt that we’re going to start seeing a lot more of Gabby Douglas in the very near future.

Categorized in: Olympics