By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
The next-gen sports brand Overtime has just blown through a major milestone, boasting 100 million followers and 3 billion monthly views.
The organization, which runs pro football and basketball leagues for younger players, also presents a major opportunity for sports licensing. That’s not just due to the incredibly fast growth in viewership, but because Overtime appeals to a younger demographic of sports fans, many of whom closely follow the players and teams on TikTok and Instagram.
As well, the sports brand is now increasing its licensing activity, having engaged The Brand Liaison to accelerate its campaign. Led by the agency, Overtime’s international outreach is designed to leverage Overtime’s strength in sports and youth culture to drive new licensed products, collaborations and experiences. Key categories of focus include fashion and performance apparel, accessories, HBA/body sprays, throws and kinesiology tape.
Meetings are being set now for Expo in May, and slots are expected to fill up quickly with just two months to go before the tradeshow begins.
TLL recently featured Overtime’s basketball league, called Overtime Elite or OTE, as it launched a major collaboration with Nickelodeon’s top animation brand Spongebob Squarepants. OTE is a basketball league for 16–20-year-olds, which is owned and operated by Overtime and founded by Dan Porter and Zack Weiner.
The league is unique in that it creates opportunities for younger players, some of whom may go on to play professionally, while others may opt to go into collegiate sports.
What is really worth noting for licensees is the incredible growth of Overtime properties like OTE.
Overtime launched the league in 2021 for both US and international players, who receive a minimum salary of $100,000 annually, a signing bonus, and shares in Overtime’s larger business. Players can also choose a scholarship option and maintain college eligibility.
Overtime also owns and operates the football league OT7, which is also growing fast in terms of viewers, brand partnerships, and revenue.
Overtime itself was launched only six years ago, and in that short span of time it has built a community through a unique voice, content strategy and elite talent with approximately 45% of followers coming from international markets. Overtime content reaches over 200 million international TikTok accounts and over 130 million international Instagram accounts per month.
While Overtime is accelerating its licensing activities, it already has a healthy business working with top brands. In particular, Overtime’s domestic apparel and accessories business has already proven to be a success with their passionate fan base. Their e-commerce portal has posted swift sell-through, with many collections selling out within weeks of launch, and the company’s brick and mortar business is also growing. After launching a 50 store test at PacSun, Overtime merch is now offered at more than 100 PacSun stores across the country.
The Brand Liaison says it is also looking forward to continuing to grow the fandom internationally through direct license agreements with apparel and accessories licensees and/or through partner agencies.
The Brand Liaison is a premier licensing agency representing both licensors and licensees in Fashion, Entertainment, Character, Children, Pet, Home, Sports, Food & Beverage, and Art brands. The agency will be leading Overtime’s engagement at Licensing Expo, but interested licensing partners can contact the agency now.
For more information on Overtime licensing, email Steven Heller or Laurie Smith at The Brand Liaison Steven@thebrandliaison.com and Laurie@thebrandliaison.com
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