Olympic darling Adam Rippon wants one thing from potential sponsors

Josh Martin

Adam Rippon figures to leave PyeongChang with much more than just a bronze medal in team figure skating from the 2018 Winter Olympics.

His lone medal made him the first American openly gay athlete to earn hardware in the 94-year history of the Winter Games. His charm and charisma on camera made him a fan favorite, with celebrities like Britney Spears to Sally Field, among others, using social media to either show him love or, in the case of Field’s son, help him find it. He’d already be cashing in as an on-air personality for NBC, if not for his patriotic desire to accompany Team USA at the Closing Ceremony in South Korea.

American figure skater Adam Rippon is looking to land a few sponsors before leaving PyeongChang. (AP)
American figure skater Adam Rippon is looking to land a few sponsors before leaving PyeongChang. (AP)

Odds are, there will be more broadcasting opportunities for Rippon once he gets back to the United States. He also figures to have his fair share of lucrative offers from sponsors looking to latch onto America’s newest Olympic sweetheart.

What, then, does Rippon want from those courting his services? No particular principles or values, beyond lots and lots of green.

“I love money,” he told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on Squawk Box, per CNBC’s Kathleen Elkins.

Rippon’s openness to any and all comers is certainly understandable considering the dire economic circumstances from whence he came.

“Six years ago, I had no money to my name,” Rippon said. “I was living in my coach’s basement. I just leased a car and I got a letter in the mail saying that my credit was so bad that they needed to take the car back.

“My coach co-signed on the lease so that I could keep the car and he said, ‘I trust you. And I trust that you’re going to work hard.'”

Maybe, then, the 28-year-old first-time Olympian should start by finding a sponsor willing to hook him up with some wheels. Then he can focus on stacking bills however and wherever he pleases.

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