oh shit, I forgot they used to give watches at the Arnold.....hahahahha.... .I think Ronnie got a RLex and a Hummer when he won the Arnold years back and so did Cutler?
Yeah, they used to give a Rolex and a Hummer to get around the IFBB saying that no contest could give away a top monetary prize amount higher than the Mr. Olympia. I think Arnold had said that he thought the top prize for the Mr. O should be $1 million.
I also think in the background, that a good reason to keeping the top prize under that, is that the bodybuilders would command too much power. This would mean that they would demand more from supp companies for endorsements, and more from Weider, MD for covers, interviews, etc. all in a time when print media is shrinking more and more.