Open Question: Does Jerry Colangelo Get an Olympic Salary?

Yesterday in USA Today, USA basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo was gruff on the topic of players wishing to receive a slice of their jersey sales. Per why the athletes should not require money, he said:

"

Another reality is, most of the players, and in fact until this comment today, I would have said 100 percent of them, understand that there's some great value to them individually for participating if they so choose to. The opportunity to represent your country is a privilege without anything further said, that's No. 1.

"

Fair enough. Nobody is forcing these players to do this, and for some, the benefits clearly outweigh other considerations. But I find it curious that Colangelo makes the case for why athletes should be unpaid without ever mentioning his own financial relationship with Team USA.

If Colangelo is doing this for free, or doing it for a modest sum, I can certainly understand his aversion to paying others. But if he's not simply doing it out of patriotic benevolence, well, draw your own conclusions.

Also, according to the chairman, Team USA is tapped out: "I quadrupled the revenue, but that only brought us to break even."

So there would be an extra whiff of hypocrisy if a lot of money was being siphoned to the pockets of Colangelo and others at the top of the Team USA food chain. I am not jumping to that conclusion, only asking the question: Does Jerry Colangelo earn a Team USA salary? I have asked Team USA about whether or not its chairman receives compensation and have yet to hear back. For now, an open question.