USOPC confirms review of commercial models including Team USA venture

A stake sale would give a non-profit sports body outside capital. It would do so before two home Olympics.

The committee confirms a review, not a deal

On 4 November the BBC reported a USOPC statement. It said the committee is "evaluating a range of commercial models to generate greater resources in support of its mission". The models include a new company, United States Olympic and Paralympic Ventures (USOPV). The Guardian reported on 3 November that the USOPC is in the advanced stages of setting up an entity. That entity would sell a stake in Team USA's commercial rights. Board minutes record chief executive Sarah Hirshland reporting "encouraging feedback from preliminary discussions with potential investment and strategic partners". Hirshland was asked about private equity, institutional capital and sovereign wealth funds. "Our responsibility is to look at all of our options, and I would say we are doing that," she told Sportico.

Sky News first reported that the USOPC had hired the Raine Group. The firm would explore a stake sale or a debt raise. Raine did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the Guardian reported.

Why the Olympic calendar forces the issue

The Olympic calendar sets the timing. The USOPC's commercial partnership with the LA28 organising committee ends after the 2028 Summer Games. It has not formed a matching agreement with the Utah 2034 Winter Games hosts. Hirshland told Sportico that discussions about the venture date to 2024. Revenue swings hard with the Games cycle. Team USA reported $264 million in 2025, an off-year. It reported $496 million in 2024, the Paris Olympics year, according to tax filings cited by Sportico.

What the venture would control

Hirshland said USOPV would take in domestic and global sponsorship and licensing. It would also take content distribution and direct-to-consumer sales. Ticketing and hospitality for Utah 2034 would stay with the local organising committee.

Team USA holds domestic deals with Comcast, Delta Air Lines, Google, Starbucks, Chase, Allstate and Honda. It shares global commercial revenue with IOC partners. Those partners include Alibaba, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Visa.

The FIFA precedent and the control question

World football's governing body scrapped a plan for a $20 billion subsidiary to run the World Cup and its other events. The plan would have offered stakes of up to 20% to outside investors. It was withdrawn after a backlash across the sport. Hirshland said she was not privy to the FIFA plan but that athlete support "is at the center of our motivation". The USOPC said any path forward will preserve its mission, governance and leadership. It has consulted athlete and federation representatives, it said.

What happens next

Sky News reported that a deal could value the commercial rights at several billion dollars. It cautioned that nothing had been finalised. The structure could be a debt raise rather than a stake sale.

More borrowing would sit on top of existing debt. The USOPC reported notes payable of $152.085 million at the end of 2025, down from $158.435 million a year earlier, according to its financial statements. The renewal window for rights from 2029 opens in January.