Auston Matthews. Connor McDavid. Eileen Gu?
When looking at the top earners set to compete at the Winter Olympics in Milan, the name at the top of the list isn’t one of the biggest NHL stars, but rather a 22-year-old freestyle skier.
Yes, it’s Eileen Gu that ranks first among the highest-paid athletes competing at the Games in Italy this month.
In 2025, Gu earned a reported US$23-million, which was two more than what Toronto Maple Leafs captain and Team USA hockey star Auston Matthews raked in. She also earned roughly triple the amount of high-profile alpine ski stars Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin.
While the likes of Matthews (at $13.25-million) and Oilers star McDavid ($12.5-million) have massive base salaries coming in from their teams, Gu has made her tidy sum by branching out into the world of modelling and by being a brand ambassador.
Even with their endorsements, Matthews fell short of Gu at $21 million while McDavid takes home a paltry total of $16.5 million.
The skiing star — who was born and raised in San Francisco, but competes for China, where her mother was born — used the 2022 Games in Beijing to launch herself to global stardom.
Who sponsors Eileen Gu?
After the controversial decision to compete for the host nation over her place of birth, Gu scored dozens of brand partnerships and appeared on the cover of several major Chinese publications. She also signed on to represent many luxury brands, such as Tiffany and Louis Vuitton, as well as Chinese-based firms Bank of China, China Mobile and Luckin Coffee.
“There is a massive audience out there for a Chinese athlete with global appeal,” Rick Burton, the U.S. Olympic Committee, told Sportico. “Gu checks all the marketability boxes and has so much going for her. Cross-cultural appeal, Olympic champion, young and dynamic.”
Her results at the Beijing Games backed up the hype, too. She scored gold medals in the big air and halfpipe competitions while adding a silver in slopestyle and becoming the first freestyle skier to win three medals in a single Games. At 18 years old, she also became the youngest Olympic champion in her sport.
According to Forbes, Gu ranked fourth among all female athletes in earnings for 2025, behind tennis superstars Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.
How much does she make from competing?
The big difference between Gu and the big hitters of the WTA Tour is the amount of money that the trio earned from competition compared to the skier. While Sabalenka earned $15-million of her $30-million from her on-court success, Gu earned just over $100Gs from her wins in World Cup events.
But while the prize money is limited, the events provide Gu and her sponsors with the one thing that all influencers and brands crave: Exposure.
Since the 2022 Games, Gu has reduced her number of sponsorships, but is earning more than ever thanks to global deals with Porsche, Red Bull and IWC.
She’ll begin her quest to add to her medal collection on Saturday with the slopestyle event and, if all goes according to her plan, she’ll once again have the eyes of the world staring at her on the podium at the end.