LA ’28 and the USOC have agreed to terms on the joint venture that will control all U.S. Olympic marketing rights from ’21-28, according to sources. It is now awaiting final IOC approval. Details of the document are not yet public, but domestic sponsorship of the ’28 Games will be available as part of a package that would also include standard USOC rights to the ’22, ’24 and ’26 Games. Sponsorship execs have been closely watching how L.A. and the USOC would handle the unprecedented situation of having 11 years instead of seven before the Games, as it gave them more flexibility on when they would merge the rights. The joint venture is required to protect the long-term financial interests of the USOC, while LA ’28 attempts to maximize revenue for the single event. No current USOC sponsorships extend beyond '20, meaning the joint venture will have a clean slate on which to build a portfolio. In a prior arrangement that would have gone into effect had L.A. won the ’24 Games, current USOC sponsors would have the right to make a first offer, but not a right to match competing offers. It is not known yet whether that condition survived into the new deal. The IOC is expected to formally award the ’28 Games to L.A. on Wednesday in Lima, Peru.
