Wearing his signature clock chain, a July 9 video shows hip hop legend Flavor Flav jumping into a pool decked out in a Paris 2024 water polo swim cap and full red, white, and blue gear, surrounded by a group of young women. No, this isn’t a revival of the early 2000′s dating show “Flavor of Love” but an unlikely pairing aimed at ensuring Team USA has the funds they need to bring home gold.

In May, three-time Olympic Gold medalist and U.S. women’s water polo team captain Maggie Steffens posted a call for support on Instagram.

“Some may not know this, but most Olympians need a 2nd (or 3rd) job to support chasing the dream (myself included!) and most teams rely on sponsors for travel, accommodations, nutritional support, rent/lodging, and simply affording to live in this day and age. Especially female sports and female athletes,” Steffens wrote.

Olympic athletes are not paid to compete in games and building their path to get there takes time and dedication– training and traveling– that makes it nearly impossible to keep a full-time job. According to a COVID-19 impact survey, 59% of Olympic hopefuls make less than $25,000 a year during their Olympics.

“Outside of the major sports, and those athletes that have high profiles, a lot of these athletes really struggle financially,” Dr. Tim Baghurst, the head of the Interdisciplinary Center for Athletic Coaching at Florida State University told WSUA9 in 2021. “A lot of them have part-time drop jobs and it’s only in the Olympics where we really, really see them shine.”

Flav told NBC Olympics that his manager showed him the post and felt compelled to help out.

“AYYY YOOO,,, as a girl dad and supporter of all women’s sports – imma personally sponsor you my girl,,, whatever you need. And imma sponsor the whole team. My manager is in touch with your agent and imma use all my relationships and resources to help all y’all even more. That’s a FLAVOR FLAV promise,” the rapper responded.

Flav kept his promise and in June signed a five-year sponsorship deal with both the US women’s and men’s polo teams including an undisclosed financial amount and Flav taking on the role as official hype man, making appearances at USA Water Polo events and collaborating on social media to engage new audiences, according to USA Water Polo.

“I realize how unexpected this partnership is,” USA Water Polo director of marketing Michaela Spector said in a statement. “Flavor Flav’s star power and passion for supporting athletes will bring a new level of excitement and visibility to water polo. We are thrilled to welcome him to the USA Water Polo family.”

The U.S. women’s water polo team are three times Olympic Gold champions, looking to bring home their fourth consecutive gold medal, a feat that no men or women’s team has done at the Olympics before, according to the Associated Press. However, Steffen’s agent Brant Feldman told the Washington Post that sponsors between athletes and sponsors are down compared to the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 games in Rio, a main source of income for many athletes.

Even Olympians face a gender pay disparity

With a lack of sponsorship deals and media coverage, women in sports typically make less than their male counterparts. According to Impact, women only received .4% of all sports sponsorships in 2020 and only received between 2% to 4% of media coverage.

The issue spans across multiple sports. In 2022, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team won a $24 million lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation for gender discrimination, citing a significant pay disparity from the men’s team, though a report by CNN still found that players in the 2023 Women’s World Cup earned 25 cents to every dollar earned by men at their World Cup.

The significant pay gap between players in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) continues to be a point of contention, even as popularity in women’s basketball has seen a major jump this year. WNBA players make a fraction of their NBA counterparts, with WNBA rookie and No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark’s $76,000 salary, sparking controversy earlier this year. According to ABC, most NBA players make over 100 times more than incoming WNBA players, with its No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama’s starting salary being more than $12 million.

While tennis is seen as a leader in gender pay equality due to equal prize money at major tournaments, disparities still exist in areas such as endorsements and overall earnings.

However, the Olympics and U.S. sports leagues are seeking to make changes this year.

Are we seeing a women’s sports renaissance?

In March, the International Olympic Committee announced full gender parity with an equal number of men and women athletes participating in the Olympics for the first time ever. It’s been a long time coming for women athletes who’ve constantly competed in the shadows of men’s leagues to finally receive the same recognition.

“I got daughters and I know what it feels like to be competitive but yet not recognized for what you do,” Flav told NBC Olympics. “Women’s water polo is not really a big popular sport like basketball or football, but I would love to see the sport grow because I like watching it be played. That’s why I stepped in and decided to help these girls out. It’s all about giving back.”

Women’s basketball exemplifies the growth in popularity in women’s sports. Viewership for the NCAA Women’s Basketball championship game drew in 18.9 million viewers, up by 90% from last year’s game, according to Nielsen, with fans locked in to watch the South Carolina Gamecocks take the title. The transition of star players like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark to the WNBA has brought an influx of attendees and TV viewership, earning the league a $2.2 billion, 11-year media deal with Disney, Amazon Prime Video and NBCUniversal announced last week.

And while they’re changing the status quo in sports at home, some of the U.S. women athletes are also top earners in endorsement deals. Sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who is competing for the first time, has brand deals with Sprite, Oikos, Powerade, and an undisclosed sponsorship with Nike, and is suspected of being one of the highest-paid athletes in Paris this year, according to NBC Olympics.

While athletes aren’t paid to play, many countries do provide financial rewards for earning medals. Olympians win $37,500 this year for each gold medal, $22,500 for silver, and $15,000 for bronze, according to USA Today.

Though the U.S. women’s water polo team lost to Spain on Monday, the tournament continues with the team scheduled to face Italy on Wednesday. More information on how to watch upcoming matches can be found on the NBC Olympics website.