in 1994, the IOC allowed Olympic athletes to make a full 100% on endorsement deals- before that, they could only use/spend 10%- though Communist countries found ways to pay their athletes- they started breaking down the walls when tennis came back to the Games in 1988- they allowed pro stars to play and that pissed off a lot of the other athletes, who protested. Then 1992- allowing the US Basketball team to have a pro team play, broke the camel's back and the IOC was forced to allow pro athletes in- track, swimming, gymnastics figure skating all have pro circuits that allow stars to make money through competitions and keep all their sponsor/endorsement deals.