Sage Kotsenburg's slope style gold medal was America's first gold of the Sochi Olympics. The accomplishment will earn Kotsenburg a $25,000 cash prize courtesy of the United States. The US pledges $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for Silver, and $10,000 for bronze for Americans that medal at the Olympics. Hopefully someone is warning the victorious US amateur athletes about taxes on earned income abroad. A gold medal could costs an Olympian as much as $9,900 in federal taxes depending upon their particular tax bracket.

Not wanting to miss a moment to grab the political spotlight, a few politicians have leaped into action. Blake Farenthold (R - Texas) recently introduced the T.E.A.M. (Tax Exemption for American Medalist) Act. The proposal would provide Olympic athletes a tax waiver related to their Olympic medals.

Though the Olympics are often viewed as the purest form of athletic competition focused predominately on amateur athletes representing their country, it is hard to miss the massive sums of money paid by host countries, sponsors, and advertisers. Even the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) seemingly can convert the Olympics into a revenue generating tradition.