OVERTIME SECURES $80 MILLION IN FUNDING TO PURSUE NFTS AND PRO-LEAGUE
Sports media startup Overtime has secured a fundraising round of $80 million dollars led by Black Capital and Sapphire Sport. High-interest investors such as Jeff Bezos’ investment firm, Alexis Ohanian (Reddit co-founder), Drake, and several NBA players are supporting the company. Dan Porter, CEO and co-founder of Overtime believes the company has hit just the tip of the iceberg with this new development. This list of investors is quite diverse from leaders in entertainment, tech, sports, and more, which Porter says “speaks to Overtime’s remarkable growth and our future trajectory.”
With a growing audience of 50 million across social platforms, Overtime has raised more than $140 million. Overtime will soon launch in the fall their program Overtime Elite (OTE) which will pay $100k salaries to basketball players 16-18 years old to play in its league. The company has plans to hire more employees with the main purpose of content creation and staffing OTE. Players part of OTE are not eligible for the NCAA but if they don’t pursue a career, OTE will compensate by giving $100k for college tuition.
Overtime has expressed interest in entering the crypto world through NFTs, which have gained insane popularity over the past year, as well as sports betting. As an established sports media company with investors in virtually every professional corner, Overtime has the potential to curate NFTs that could take the sports world by storm. Exploring NFTs and sports betting will help Overtime bring in revenue outside of advertising and merchandise. Through an app, Overtime plans to connect more with its followers directly, offering prediction contests and scores.
Overtime co-founder and president Zack Weiner says that Overtime is “the leading brand for the next generation of sports fans” as they reach them through social platforms, e-commerce, sports league, and long-form series. The company plans to always be at the forefront of the rapidly changing consumption of sports.
