Olympic gymnastic stars in search of green not gold

Paul Hamm and Shawn Johnson became famous by performing near-perfect gymnastics under pressure in front of stern judges and silent fans.

Now with no consequences for errors, they're making a fortune showing their skills, judged by smiling mothers and screaming daughters, in a rock concert-like setting.

Hamm and Johnson, along with most of their Beijing Games teammates, wowed a crowd of thousands Sunday at World Arena during the Tour of Gymnastics Superstars, then collected a pile of cash.

Chances are they're enjoying the biggest paydays of their careers - probably six figures for Hamm, Johnson and Nastia
Liukin - off the 37-city tour, conducting routines to music by pop singer Jordan Pruitt and all-girl, pop-punk band KSM.

None of the gymnasts would say how much they're making over 71 days. Neither would tour organizer Mike Berg, whose Charlotte company, Edge Entertainment, runs the 2-hour shows with Los Angeles-based ArenaNetwork.

Berg said he's paying 15-plus gymnasts "what they deserve. Without them, there's no tour. Without Nastia and Shawn, we're not doing this."

Hamm said his pay has "slightly" increased since he participated in the 2004 Rock and Roll Gymnastics tour. He then netted $97,500 for 13 stops, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"My status has changed a little," said Hamm, the 2004 Olympic all-around champion.

Said Olympic Training Center resident Joseph Hagerty: "We're not football players. We don't get paid what they get."

Berg covers nearly all expenses for the gymnasts, who sleep in hotels at night and travel by day in charter buses that feature beds, a living room and a kitchen.

The all-around runner-up to Liukin in Beijing, Johnson called her bus "a little apartment." She said her bed is "not big enough to sit up in, and you forget that a lot."

For more than 20 years, gymnasts have participated in post-Olympic tours, hoping to turn profits off popularity that's short-lived.

Vitaly Shcherbo of Belarus earned $50,000 in a 25-city U.S. tour after winning six gold medals at the 1992 Olympics, according to The New York Times. In 2004, Carly Patterson made $73,800 on the 41-show T.J. Maxx tour operated by USA Gymnastics, the Los Angeles Times reported.

According to Sports Illustrated, six members of the "Magnificent Seven" team that won gold at the 1996 Olympics got at least $119,000 for 34 performances on a Berg-directed tour, having declined offers of $1 million apiece by Chicago White Sox co-owner Eddie Einhorn to join another tour.