HE'S FELT A SPONSOR'S PAYNE: NATIONSBANK INKS OPUS DEAL

          NationsBank and the USOC announced today that
     NationsBank has renewed its partnership with the USOC
     through 2004.  Under the terms of the deal, NationsBank will
     be the official banking sponsor under the OPUS banner, the
     joint marketing arm of the USOC and SLOC.  The deal makes
     NationsBank an official sponsor of U.S. Olympic and Pan
     American Games teams through 2004, as well as the Winter
     Games and Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City   The
     deal also includes a $170M line-of-credit to SLOC to assist
     in underwriting the staging of the 2002 Games (OPUS).  In
     Salt Lake, Jay Baltezore reports sources said that the
     sponsorship "calls for cash payments and in-kind services in
     excess of" $50M.  NationsBank is the seventh sponsor to ink
     the integrated OPUS deal (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 1/8).  AD AGE
     reports that the deal "could exceed" $100M (AD AGE, 1/7). 
     NationsBank Vice Chair -- and former ACOG CEO -- Billy
     Payne, helped on the deal.  USOC Deputy Secretary General
     John Krimsky, on how Payne may be directly involved: "I
     think the bank is going to rely on him to give his thoughts
     [on] how to activate a sponsorship" (USA TODAY, 1/8).