That was a sloppy piece of journalism on Phonearena's part. They got it wrong, very wrong. If you go to their source at the bottom of the article (Reuters), here's the actual statement: Sprint, which started taking iPhone orders on October 7, said it would pay Apple a subsidy that is 40 percent higher, or $200 more per device, than what it pays for other phones.
http://www.reuters.c...F+Technology%29
So Sprint pays 40% more for the iPhone than what they pay for comparable HTC, Samsung, Motorola, LG, etc. devices. I expect that's true for all carriers. They don't pay 40% more in subsidy than what Verizon or at&t pays. Phonearena should really be A LOT more careful in their reporting.