US Olympic movement explores sale of stake in Team USA commercial rights

The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has kicked off talks with investors about a potential deal which could involve selling a stake in the commercial rights to Team USA ahead of a crucial sporting decade for the country.

Sky News has learnt that the USOPC has engaged financial advisors at The Raine Group to explore a range of possible transactions which would represent a landmark financial arrangement for a national Olympics association.

Sources said a deal could value the USOPC's commercial rights at several billion dollars, but cautioned that a deal had yet to be finalised, and could take various forms, including a debt raise rather than the sale of a stake.

Several sports-focused investors are already said to have been approached about participating in a deal, while a multitude of US sports national governing bodies (NGBs) are understood to have been closely consulted on what structure a transaction could take.

Sarah Hirshland, the USOPC chief executive, is said to be driving the discussions, with a strong focus on robust governance to oversee the process.

Team USA topped the medal table in Paris in 2024, with 40 golds out of a total haul of 126 medals.

Among its Olympic champions were Noah Lyles in the men's 100 metres and both the men's and women's basketball teams.

At this year's Winter Games in Italy, the Americans surpassed their record tally with 12 golds and 33 medals overall.

Its discussions about a commercial rights deal will draw interest from across the sporting world amid an explosion of investor interest in the commercial rights to elite sports and athletes.

Tens of billions of dollars have been poured into deals in the past year in sports spanning baseball, football, rugby union, cricket and American football as asset prices surge beyond their previous peaks.

Sources said the USOPC's objective was to put the Olympic movement in the US on a sustainable long-term footing ahead of the summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028 and the Winter Olympics in Utah six years later.

Its project comes amid the continuing fallout from the FIFA president Gianni Infantino's now abandoned attempt to sell a stake in the World Cup's commercial rights, which was conducted in secret without the knowledge of members of the governing body's council.

One insider contrasted the USOPC's approach with that of world football's most powerful organisation.

In a statement issued in response to an enquiry from Sky News, a USOPC spokesperson said: "The next decade represents an unprecedented opportunity for Team USA and the US Olympic and Paralympic Movement.

"As part of our responsibility to maximise that opportunity for the athletes and NGBs [national governing bodies] we serve, the USOPC is evaluating a range of commercial models to generate greater resources in support of its mission.

"We've been in ongoing conversation with athlete and NGB leaders during this process, and that will continue. Any path forward will preserve the USOPC's mission, governance, leadership and commitment to Team USA athletes.

"This is a moment of real momentum for Team USA. With LA28 and Utah-2034 on home soil, and Team USA's commercial rights returning to the USOPC after the LA28 Games, we're building the capabilities to better grow and support the Movement for generations ahead."

One insider said any transaction would be aimed at providing additional resources for Team USA athletes and their governing bodies, particularly in sports which were traditionally less able to attract significant external capital.

The USOPC declined to comment on the identity of advisors or any prospective investors with which it was holding talks.

It also said it would not speculate on specific commercial models that were under evaluation.

Through broadcast and other marketing and commercial deals, the US is responsible for a very sizeable proportion of all revenues generated by the global Olympic and Paralympic movement.

One question will be how the USOPC process interacts with the complex and long-term partnerships which fall under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has said that enhancing commercial and revenue models is a priority as part of its Fit for the Future process.

Local organising committees for each individual games also strike their own commercial agreements, with London 2012 having been particularly successful in that regard.

The USOPC does not receive any federal government funding, unlike many national Olympic committees globally.

Instead, it is funded through commercial partners, philanthropy and games-related revenue.

One source said that a separate commercial rights deal such as a stake sale could help transition the USOPC away from the typical four-year funding cycle dominated in Summer Olympics years.

"Athlete needs don't follow a four-year rhythm," they said, adding that a long-term arrangement would enable commercial momentum to keep building, rather than being reset after each games.

Additional funding would be expected to be invested in areas such as fan engagement, data infrastructure and new content initiatives which promote the American teams as well as the Olympic movement as a whole.

According to USOPC figures, nearly $180m was invested by the organisation in athlete excellence programmes last year.

In philanthropic terms, the US Olympic & Paralympic Foundation enjoyed a record year last year, raising more than $254m and welcoming more than 11,000 first-time donors, according to public data

(c) Sky News 2026: US Olympic movement explores sale of stake in Team USA commercial rights