USOPC engages Raine Group to explore potential sale of a stake in Team USA's commercial rights ahead of LA 2028 Olympics
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has confirmed it is evaluating a range of commercial models, including the possible sale of a stake in Team USA's commercial rights, as it prepares for a decade of home-soil Games. The USOPC has engaged the Raine Group, a prominent sports-focused investment bank, to explore fundraising options. The USOPC stated that the process is intended to 'maximise opportunity for the athletes and national governing bodies', and that any path forward will preserve its mission, governance, leadership, and commitment to Team USA athletes. Athlete and national governing body leaders have been kept informed throughout. The commercial context is compelling: Los Angeles is set to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Utah has been selected to stage the 2034 Winter Games, both on US soil. Team USA's commercial rights are also expected to revert to the USOPC after the LA28 Games. The USOPC said Team USA is expected to generate record revenues over the coming years, with stars including sprinters Sha'Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles, swimmer Katie Ledecky, and basketball players Anthony Edwards and Caitlin Clark. The exploration comes at a sensitive moment for Olympic commercial rights transactions globally. FIFA recently reversed plans for a similar commercial rights deal after a public backlash over investor negotiations being conducted without transparency. Other sports organisations to have sold stakes in their commercial rights include the Spanish and French football leagues, Six Nations Rugby, Premiership Rugby, and the world governing body of volleyball. No deal structure, valuation, or preferred investor has been announced.
Why this matters
Commercial rights monetisation by sports governing bodies has accelerated since private equity entered the sector, with league-level deals in European football and rugby demonstrating that institutional capital can unlock long-term infrastructure investment in exchange for revenue participation. The USOPC's exploration, structured around a mandate to Raine Group rather than a formal sale process, reflects caution following the FIFA controversy, but the underlying commercial logic, two home Games in a decade plus repatriated commercial rights after LA28, makes Team USA one of the most attractive sports IP opportunities in the market. For City and US law firms, this type of transaction sits at the intersection of private equity, sports regulation, and complex commercial rights structuring, all of which are high-margin practice areas.
On the Ground
A deal of this type would engage private equity and M&A, sports law, IP and commercial rights, and regulatory compliance practices. Advisers on the sell-side would need to structure a commercial rights transfer or minority stake that preserves not-for-profit governance obligations and athlete representation commitments. Buy-side counsel would conduct due diligence on the revenue streams, rights reversion provisions, and regulatory constraints applicable to Olympic movement governance. No legal advisers have been named at this stage. A trainee working on a comparable sports rights transaction would assist with due diligence report indexing, drafting SPA schedules relating to IP and commercial rights assignments, and preparing Companies House or equivalent governance filing summaries.
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