COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — With the economy spiraling downward and sponsors running away faster than Usain Bolt, the Olympics needed money.

Big money.

And fast.

So, leaders of Olympic organizations started thinking outside the box, peddling their famous rings to new companies, selling multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals to pretty much anyone willing to pay the price.

In the past few weeks, the International and U.S. Olympic committees have announced a flurry of deals — a long-awaited sign that big-money sponsors are returning to the rings. The deals, however, have made for some strange bedfellows — a handful of partnerships that, at first blush, don't look like natural fits:

— The U.S. Olympic Committee signed a six-year, $24 million deal with BMW, making the German automaker the replacement for General Motors as the federation's automobile sponsor.

— The International Olympic Committee, which has long prided itself on sustainability and "green" initiatives, agreed to make Dow Chemical its official "chemistry company" in a deal believed to be worth $100 million or more.

— Officials at the IOC, USOC and the London 2012 Organizing Committee came out in strong support of continuing a relationship with BP, which previous to the Gulf Coast oil spill had signed sponsorship deals with the USOC to the tune of between $10 million and $15 million and with London 2012 worth $58 million.

The Olympic movement also receives sponsorship dollars from McDonald's, Coca-Cola and other companies that aren't always immediately synonymous with sporting, active lifestyles. Experts say that while deals like these, in many circles, have become so common they don't raise eyebrows, they also could leave the Olympic movement vulnerable.

"With the Internet and the ability of somebody or some group to create a stir or draw attention to these kind of things, you can get magnified so you are exposed," said Kevin Lane Keller, a marketing professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. "If people think about them more deeply, the connections might cause concern, and they may not create a positive impression."

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next