Eli Lilly Signs Short-Term Deal With USOPC Only Through Tokyo Games

The USOPC has its first new sponsor in more than three years, signing pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. to a short-term deal covering the Tokyo Games. The rights were packaged with media time on Olympic broadcaster NBCUniversal, marking the first combo deal sold by NBC and the USOPC since the '12 London Games cycle. The deal is a surprise, because U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties, the joint venture between LA28 and the USOPC that currently sells the U.S. Olympics rights, said last June that short-term deals would not be considered, opting instead only for long-term packages that include the '28 Games. This deal does not involve LA28, and expires before LA28 packages would begin next January. Along with the designation "official partner" for Team USA and the '20 Olympic and Paralympic teams, Eli Lilly said it would also hire a stable of athlete endorsers for its Olympic campaign. Comcast was the last new USOPC sponsor to join the portfolio in December '16.