Team USA Will Let Most Sponsors Extend Through 2021 Tokyo Games
Team USA Will Let Most Sponsors Extend Through 2021 Tokyo Games
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is offering to extend agreements with most of its corporate partners through the 2021 Tokyo Games at no additional cost, removing a potential headache for sponsors of the delayed event.
Team USA sent notes on Wednesday to 17 of its 20 sponsors, giving them the option of extending their deals through next year’s Summer Games, according to two people familiar with the letter. Should the companies choose to extend, their pacts will expire on Sept. 5, 2021, at the end of the Paralympic Games.
The remaining three partners -- United Airlines Holdings Inc., Liberty Mutual Group Inc. and the dairy-industry group MilkPEP -- all now have conflicts with new sponsors at the U.S. or global Olympic level, which were set to kick in at the start of the year. Those entities were told that more discussion was needed to sort out their status, one of the people said. Representatives of United, Liberty Mutual and MilkPEP didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
“In addition to the Team USA athletes navigating the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Games and recalibrating towards 2021, Team USA partners are looking for clarity around our relationships and their activations,” said Sarah Hirshland, chief executive officer of the committee. “Each case will be different, but we are committed to the process and look forward to finding solutions and opportunities for partners to continue their support of Team USA athletes on this new journey to Tokyo.”
Agreements with all 20 of Team USA’s sponsors, a list that includes Nike Inc., Ralph Lauren Corp. and Kellogg Co., are set to expire at the end of the year. The deals were structured that way to clear the slate for a joint venture of Team USA and the organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Games to sell new packages from 2021 through 2028.
The postponement of the Summer Games, now set to take place next summer in Tokyo, created a lot of confusion as to whether those partners would be able to participate in the later date. Team USA’s decision to let most of them extend is consistent with what the International Olympic Committee announced it would do for its global partners.
The conflicts yet to be worked out include one with the joint venture’s first partner, Delta Air Lines Inc. Allowing United to extend would leave Team USA with two airline sponsors next year. The IOC, which has the right to sign exclusive global deals, also has new partnerships set to start that cover milk and insurance. As a result, Team USA’s relationships with MilkPEP and Liberty Mutual require additional conversation.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.