Most Olympians don't make millions. This bobsledder rented out his home to boost his income while competing around the world.

Boone Niederhofer competed for Team USA in bobsled at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Courtesy of Boone Niederhofer Boone Niederhofer, a former collegiate football player, began his bobsledding career after a COVID-era layoff.

Today, he balances a full-time engineering job, Olympic training, and fatherhood.

He explains how he created additional income during the Olympic season by renting out his home.

Some might assume that making it to the Olympics brings financial security, but for many athletes in lesser-known sports, it's not a windfall.

In fact, the costs can be higher than they pay for some Olympians.

"Athletes will go into debt trying to chase their dream," Olympian Boone Niederhofer told Business Insider.

Equipment, travel, and lodging can add up quickly, while "the realities of life are still there, even for people who make the Olympics." For Niederhofer, a bobsled push athlete and petroleum engineer from Texas, the path to the 2026 Winter Olympics required more than speed and strength.

He worked full time, trained around his job, and turned his family's Midland home into a four-month mid-term rental while they traveled through Europe for the World Cup season.

The rental income helped make it possible for his wife, Chloe, and their two young kids to join him rather than spend months apart.

Before bobsled, Niederhofer played football at Texas A&M.

Courtesy of Boone Niederhofer Bobsled, familiar to many Americans mostly through the 1993 movie "Cool Runnings," tends to draw athletes from football and track and field.

"Any athlete that is fast and powerful and strong is going to be a good bobsledder," explained Niederhofer, who developed those traits playing football at Texas A&M before an ACL tear ended his college career.

After graduating with a degree in petroleum engineering, he began working in the oil and gas industry.