For a full description of how AMP works, please download the AMP Program Guidelines here.
How AMP Works
AMP provides expanded earning opportunities to more Team USA athletes in three ways – including:
A guaranteed base payment for group marketing rights
New revenue streams such as royalty fees for consumer products through licensed merchandise
Potential for incremental revenue via individual marketing deals
Based on the criteria, athletes can be eligible for:
The full AMP pilot program - including group, licensing and individual marketing opportunities, OR
Individual marketing opportunities.
Eligibility
FULL AMP PILOT PROGRAM
*Group marketing, licensed merchandise and individual marketing
Full AMP pilot program invitations were sent to eligible athletes in March 2021. Eligible athletes include those who:
Finished in the top-eight individual event or top-six team event finishes in the most recent year’s world championships or equivalent Operation Gold event as agreed upon with each NGB (Olympic and Paralympic program events only)
INDIVIDUAL MARKETING
Initial Individual Marketing pilot invitations were in March 2021 and as additional athletes qualify. Eligible athletes include those who:
Competed in the most recent year’s world championships or equivalent Operation Gold event as agreed upon with each NGB (Olympic and Paralympic program events only)
Have qualified for the Olympic or Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020
Have qualified for the Olympic or Paralympic Games Beijing 2022
Notes:
Due to the uncertainty around COVID-19 and the disruptions experienced by some sports who haven’t had a recent Operation Gold event, the USOPC will work with NGBs/HPMOs to identify equivalent criteria using results that are available.
Group Marketing base payment will not be impacted should additional 2020-2021 events be canceled due to COVID-19.Eligibility
How are athletes notified when they qualify? Athletes qualify through Operation Gold standards, and information from the Ombuds office will be included in notification and enrollment materials. More details on athlete eligibility are available here.
How are athletes notified when they no longer qualify for AMP? Athletes may remain on the platform for individual marketing opportunities even after they retire.
What if athletes get pregnant or injured—planning on returning to competition but not on a roster? Pregnant or injured athletes will still be included if qualified through Operation Gold in the previous year.
Will the US Olympian and Paralympian Association be included? This pilot is focused on current athletes but retired athletes are interested and the long-term intention is to include them.
How can an athlete withdraw from the program in the future? Athletes are welcome to opt-out at any time, though those that do will be ineligible for future payments tied to group marketing or individual marketing. Athletes can navigate to their name/avatar in the top right of the AMP platform to update their settings and opt-out.
Enrollment
Where should I look for resources on the AMP pilot and making the decision whether my athlete(s) should enroll?
This AMP Enrollment Checklist is a good place to start, as well as the resources available at https://www.teamusa.org/amp.
Other great resources are referenced in those two links that are worth calling out:
A video on the enrollment process, located at the very bottom of the page. Note the process to invite agents at timestamp 1:17-1:24.
Step-by-step instructions on how to enroll.
AMP guidelines which include sample creative for group marketing on pages 11, 12 and 15.
AMP brands and categories, so you can coach your athletes on which brands and categories to block within AMP.
Finally, you may want to share a summary about AMP with your athletes, to outline their rights, benefits, and responsibilities. This may help:
Full AMP Program: Athletes who are eligible and wish to enroll must agree to the Athlete AMP Agreement. You can review the full contract here and a summary here. In addition, athletes must agree to the platform Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Group Marketing: Athletes earn a guaranteed payment of $1,250 in exchange for inclusion in a maximum of five brand marketing campaigns, which will feature Team USA athletes in groups of three or more. The USOPC will approve creative materials on behalf of athletes.
Individual Marketing: Athletes set their own payment terms and earn 100% of the negotiated rate for Individual Marketing Use. All individual deals require a separate contract between the brand and the athlete.
Licensing: Co-branded Team USA merchandise with each eligible athlete's name will be for sale in the Team USA Shop. Athletes earn 50% of royalties received by USOPC for sale of merchandise with their name or likeness.
Individual Marketing Only: Athletes must agree to the platform Privacy Policy and Terms of Use to set up their profile. Athletes can review deals and negotiate payment terms within the AMP platform. Athletes earn 100% of the negotiated rate for Individual Marketing Use. All individual deals require a separate contract between the brand and the athlete.
Can an agent register without being invited by their athletes? Agents can be added to an athletes’ profiles in one of two ways:
If an athlete adds their agent’s name and email address during the enrollment process or emails support@opendorse.com at any point after enrollment
If an athlete gives their login details to their agent to enroll on their behalf
What if an athlete is already on Opendorse? If an athlete enrolls in AMP, they can import their existing profile information from the main Opendorse platform. Similarly, if an athlete is not on Opendorse and enrolls in AMP, they can elect to publish their profile details to the main Opendorse platform.
If an athlete is not signed up on AMP will they no longer receive offers from the USOPC/USOPP for appearances? Absolutely not, the intention for the USOPC/USOPP/Foundation/LA28 is that AMP is meant to be additive, not replace any existing deals. Athletes can and will still receive opportunities outside of AMP.
AMP does help streamline several workstreams:
Shifting media dollars to athletes: Because AMP helps facilitate social publishing at scale, there are net new opportunities to look at coordinating social publishing and sponsoring athlete posts.
Organizing opportunities by geography: For example, when the Foundation has an event in NY, AMP makes it much easier to discover and contract with local athletes.
Democratizing athlete inclusion in USOPC comms: AMP helps track which athletes the USOPC/LA28/Foundation uses in communications, and ensures we can be more mindful to broaden athlete access to Team USA opportunities.
Using AMP
If an athlete has an extensive team with multiple agents, managers, etc, is it possible to request multiple agents to have access to athlete profiles? Opendorse only supports one reviewer right now, but this request is part of our exploration on visibility and editability.
What are the different review cadences for athletes and agents? Athletes without agents linked are athlete-only reviews; the default for athletes with agents linked is agent then athlete reviewal; and there’s also an agent-only option. For the agent-only option, please send an email to Kara.Buckley@usopc.org and derek@opendorse.com with your athlete copied to approve the change.
Contracts and Agreements
What contracts to athletes have to sign?
For Group Marketing:
For Individual Marketing:
Each Individual Marketing Deal requires a separate contract between the brand and the athlete. Brands have the choice to either upload a custom contract or present athletes with a default set of Individual Marketing Use Terms and Conditions.
Say an athlete gets into dispute with brand, how is the agent aware? Within the AMP Platform, all conversations with brands happen via the chat function. If an athlete adds an agent to their profile, then the agent is the first point of communication with the brand.
Is there be functionality for redlining contracts? We are working with Opendorse to integrate Docusign technology into the AMP platform, starting with a signature capability. In the meantime, all changes or redlines to contracts can be discussed via chat in the platform.
Payments and Fees
Can payments be routed to agents? Opendorse will send the payments to the designated bank account once the cash-out process is initiated. The bank account could be an individual's account, agent's account, LLC, etc.
Are any platform fees taken out of the athlete payments? No-- brands have a transaction fee, convenience fee, and potentially sales taxes depending on the buyer's location and the deal activity, but those are only visible on the brand side. Athletes will receive the full amount indicated when they accept the deal. The only potential athlete fee is the $2.00 cash-out fee if the amount being transferred is under $20-- however, this is very unlikely due to the default deal minimum of $25.
When do athletes first get paid, and is there a one-time payout? Athletes choose when to initiate the fund transfer to the designated bank account. Full funds are available when the transaction per activity (not the whole deal) is completed. Athletes send proof, brands confirm and mark the activity complete, and then funds appear in the athlete’s account.
Can we upload a completed W-9 PDF or do athletes have to enter their info directly through Opendorse? Right now, you have to complete the form in Opendorse but there is an improvement to accept pre-completed files.
Note: Opendorse will issue 1099s at end of year using the address on file.
Brands
For group marketing, how are athletes notified of new sponsors who have access? All athletes will be notified when new sponsors have access to the platform, and athletes will be prompted to update their category conflicts. The platform will notify athletes in group marketing if their conflicts exceed 50% of available brands.
What happens if an athlete agrees to a deal but it's in direct conflict with another sponsor or deal? Athletes are responsible for complying with any and all existing agreements. We encourage agents and NGBs to educate athletes on any category conflicts that may arise from current contracts.