Athletes are starting to capitalise on their social-media followings due to relaxed sponsorship rules, though the guidelines still make it a confusing process. — AP Photo
Olympians are taking advantage of a sponsorship rule change which lets them to capitalise on their social-media followings to promote items such as sports wear and washing detergent during the Tokyo Olympics, but agents say that the complexity of the new guidelines and the International Olympic Committee’s continuing control still prevents athletes from fully realising their earning potential.
Athletes had until now been prohibited from engaging in personal sponsor promotion during the Olympics, but a change in 2019 by the IOC to a guideline known as Rule 40 has opened the doors for them to post sponsored content and generate another revenue stream.
That’s enable athletes such as Portuguese triple jumper Patricia Mamona to tout cereal made by Nestle SA and Taiwanese weightlifter Hsing-chun Kuo to promote telecommunications provider Taiwan Mobile Co Ltd. on their Instagram accounts.
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