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USOPC, Sports NGBs Across THe Board Taking A Hit

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USOPC, Sports NGBs Across THe Board Taking A Hit

The US Elite Training Center at Chula Vista, Calif.

Several mainstream news sources are reporting that the USOPC (US Olympic and Paralympic Committee) is going to lose hundreds of millions of dollars because of the postponement of the 2020 Olympics to 2021.

With TV rights payments from NBC and sponsorship dollars delayed, the USOPC could lose $120 million (according to ESPN). The Washington Post is reporting that the USOPC has asked for $200 million from the federal government to compensate for the losses due to everything shutting down amid the COVID-19 virus shutdown.

While this request hasn't gone down well with some observers, especially those pointing out that people who are losing their jobs, or have lost their jobs, are more in need than the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee. However, it's also worth pointing out that the USOPC is the only national Olympic committee that doesn't take government money. Every non-USA Olympic athlete benefits from taxpayer funding.

USOPC asked for $50 million for its own operations (mainly to pay athletes who are in training), while the other $150 million would be for sporting National Governing Bodies (NGBs). The Wall Street Journal says that NGBs could lose as much as $800 million.

It's not clear how this all shakes out. USA Rugby is an Olympic NGB when it comes to 7s, and the USOPC does help fund the USA Men's and Women's 7s programs. In addition, reports have trickled through that even as USA Rugby runs into its own financial issues, the USOPC had committed to keeping the USA 7s teams going. 

So ... while USA Rugby is looking to enter Chapter 11 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy — USA Rgby Gets A Lifeline: Chapter 11 Vote To Come — it might be time to completely separate out the 7s programs and push for the USOPC to take care of them.