USOPC says it could sell stake in Team USA commercial rights to private investors

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has said it could sell a stake in Team USA's commercial rights, the organisation announced on 4 November 2026 after Team USA topped the medal table at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The plan would involve creating a new company called United States Olympic and Paralympic Ventures (USOPV).

In a statement the non-profit USOPC said it is "evaluating a range of commercial models to generate greater resources in support of its mission." Board minutes recorded "encouraging feedback from preliminary discussions with potential investment and strategic partners [who] generally validated the vision for the USOPV and strategic rationale underlying the initiative." Sky News and Reuters first reported the discussions.

The proposal comes as the US prepares to host the Los Angeles Summer Games in 2028 and the 2034 Winter Games in Utah; the USOPC currently has a commercial partnership with the LA 2028 Organising Committee as part of a deal that will expire after the Games. The USOPC statement said: "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."

Asked if it is open to investment from private equity, institutional capital or sovereign wealth funds, USOPC chief executive Sarah Hirschland told Sportico: "Our responsibility is to look at all of our options, and I would say we are doing that."

The announcement arrives amid contention in world football over Fifa president Gianni Infantino's failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup, which sparked a major backlash. On the USOPC's motivations Hirschland added: "Our support for Team USA athletes and our national governing bodies is at the centre of our motivation and will remain at the centre of our motivation from start to finish. This is about growing the overall revenue pie for the constituencies that we serve."

The USOPC said: "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."