The USOC has published guidelines allowing athletes to endorse non-Olympic sponsors during the '16 Rio Games under strict conditions, relaxing a rule that had previously insisted on zero association between Olympians and brands lacking official Olympic deals just as their value peaked every four years. According to the revised guidelines, athletes and their individual sponsors will be permitted to continue “in-market, generic” advertising campaigns throughout the Games if the USOC grants a waiver. The new U.S. guidelines closely follow the IOC's proposed changes to Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter released in February. Waiver conditions will force athletes and their sponsors to develop a plan more than eight months before Rio, and will still prevent short-term campaigns only around the Games in August. Non-Olympic sponsors must submit their plans for USOC review by Jan. 27, as well as a media schedule demonstrating that the campaign will start before March 27 and run continuously through the Games. Even with a waiver, the advertising must not mention the Rio Games or use any Olympics intellectual property or terminology, according to the guidelines. The Athletes’ Advisory Council and the National Governing Bodies Council contributed to the guidelines development, according to the USOC. This issue bubbled over before the '12 London Games when U.S. sprinter Sanya Richards-Ross and other athletes challenged Rule 40 at a press conference and in a Twitter hashtag campaign. Athletes claim the old rule was unfair because it shut down their already-limited means of monetizing their likeness at the most crucial times. The USOC promises to communicate directly with interested agents, sponsors, partners and athletes in the coming weeks to answer questions about the changes.
