Hang On To The Advance, Phelpsy, Because Your Royalties Will Probably Buy You One Speedo

FIT-LIT Phelps, Torres (inset) Swimmy shiny Michael Phelps nabbed $1.6 million in his book deal with Simon & Schuster's imprint Free Press, according to the New York Post. Before she fell like a bazillionth-of-a-second away from Olympic gold, Phelps' teammate Dara Torres signed a reported $3-million book deal with Random House for her two books. Plenty of other past Olympians have attached their names to memoirs and autobiographies for serious upfront cash, but as the New York Times noted earlier this month, the window of opportunity to capitalize on an Olympic medal in the marketplace is pretty slim. Since Americans pay attention to the Olympics only when they're, you know, on, by the time a medalist sees publication, their once-adoring public isn't all that interested in forking over for their hardcover tale of guts and glory.