Understanding the Financial Side of Olympic Bobsled
Most people assume athletes at the Winter Games have big bank accounts. Bobsled is one of those sports where the expense ratio is brutal — sleds cost anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000 each, and teams need multiple setups for different ice conditions. That alone explains why athlete net worth figures float around so ambiguously online. The exact numbers on Todd Herendeen's financial situation aren't publicly documented in any verified source. What exists online is speculation wrapped in listicle format — sites that guess at athlete earnings without income tax returns or public filings to back them up. Herendeen competed for Team USA at the 2014 Sochi and 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics as a brakeman, which puts him in a category of Olympic athletes who earn prize money but also carry significant overhead costs. Here is how bobsled income actually works in practice. The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation does not distribute prize money the way track and field or swimming do. Athletes mainly make money through three channels: national federation stipends (usually modest, sometimes nonexistent for non-medal teams), sponsorship deals, and post-retirement income from coaching or equipment manufacturing. Herendeen has been associated with various sponsorship arrangements over the years, but nothing has crossed public record as a major commercial deal.
The tricky part most people miss is timing. Olympic bobsled is a seasonal sport with training cycles running 11 months of the year. An athlete like Herendeen likely held a day job or worked in sports management alongside training. This is standard practice across American bobsled programs, where funding per athlete often falls between $5,000 and $15,000 annually depending on competitive tier. That figure covers travel, equipment maintenance, and personal coaching — leaving very little surplus. I remember working with a former push athlete who tracked their actual competition expenses over a four-year Olympic cycle. The numbers were worse than they expected. Ice time fees at UIGA-certified tracks run about $2,000 per session for a two-man sled. Travel to competitions across Europe added another $3,000 to $5,000 per event. Sled parts wear out faster than casual fans realize — runners need sharpening and replacement every few weeks during peak season. The athlete ended up spending roughly $40,000 out of pocket while competing at World Cup level. Herendeen's post-competition career likely provides more stable income than his athletic years did. American bobsled programs frequently place retired athletes into roles with the USBOBSLETON team, equipment companies like WSP Sleds, or sports marketing firms. This pattern holds true across multiple Olympic cycles and is probably where the bulk of his current earnings come from now.
What online sources typically get wrong is conflating gross revenue with net worth. When a site claims an Olympic athlete is worth several million dollars, they usually mean what that athlete has earned over their entire career — not what they currently own after taxes, agent fees, equipment purchases, and living expenses. The difference between those two figures is enormous in Olympic sports. For context, the average American bobsledder who makes the Winter Olympics but never wins a medal will have lifetime competition earnings somewhere between $100,000 and $400,000 across a 10-to-12-year career. Herendeen's two Olympic appearances likely place him in that range. Anything above that would require either a major sponsorship, Olympic medal bonuses, or a lucrative second career already in progress. The bottom line is straightforward. Todd Herendeen has had a respectable Olympic bobsled career. The financial specifics remain private, and any precise figure you see online is a guess. Bobsled is expensive, funding is inconsistent, and most athletes in this sport rely on post-career opportunities rather than competition winnings to build lasting wealth.
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