The figures include $217.6 million (£136.4 million) from broadcast rights and royalties, according to the USOC's tax filings.

 

The revelation is sure to spark further claims from some National Olympic Committees and senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) members that the USOC is earning too much from the Games and that the money should be shared out more evently.

 

The USOC generated $280.6 million (£175.9 million) in total revenue, $133.9 million (£83.9 million) more than in 2007, helping offset $231.1 million (£144.9 million) in expenses, including $71.4 million (£44.7 million) on athletes and national governing bodies of Olympic sports, $39 million (£24.4 million) on employee compensation and $25.2 million (£15.8 million) on training centre costs.
 

The USOC does not receive any funding from the US Government so relies on the money it earns from NBC, the Olympic broadcaster in America, and 18 sponsors.

 

The tax filings revealed that the USOC earned $94.3 million (£59.1 million) from sponsors, $3 million from international games (£1.8 million), $2.1 million (£1.3 million) from international relations and $1.7 million (£1 million) from the Olympic Training Centre in Colorado Springs and sites in Chula Vista, California, and Lake Placid, New York.

The USOC awarded $43.3 million (£27.1 million) in grants to 37 national governing bodies, including $4 million (£2.5 million) to US Ski and Snowboard, $3.4 million (£2.1 million) to USA Swimming and $3.2 million (£2 million) to USA Track & Field.

 

It spent $11.5 million (£7.2 million) on 22 Paralympic sports.
 

Training grants for 1,636 athletes amounted to $12.1 million (£7.5 million), plus it cost $2.7 million (£1.6 million) to cover 933 athletes for health insurance.

 

The USOC rewarded 506 athletes with $6.5 million (£4 million) for top-eight finishes in major international competitions through "Operation Gold."

 

The tax filings also reveal that 66 of the USOC's 473 employees earned six-figure salaries.

 

The highest earner was chief operating officer Norman Bellingham, who was paid $663,369 (£415,932) while chief executive Jim Scherr collected $619,507 (£388,430).

 

Darryl Seibel, the chief communications officer, was paid $367,779 (£211,789).
 

Scherr has since resigned and Seibel is due to leave next week.

 

Some IOC officials claim that the USOC receives more than its fair share from global marketing contracts and US broadcasting revenues and are seeking a fairer distribution of the Olympic wealth.

The USOC maintains it is entitled to a larger share since it maintains American television rights and sponsors that keep Olympic coffers flush with cash, providing the IOC with over 50 per cent of its revenues.

Frustrations over stalled negotiations reached boiling point in March. with some angry IOC members accusing the USOC of stalling tactics.

 

A compromise was finally reached in which USOC “agreed to the principle of participation in the Games costs at an appropriate level”.

 

Some senior figures within the USOC had feared that an ongoing row over revenue sharing could harm Chicago's bid to follow London and host the 2016 Olympics.