Brooklyn-based sports startup Overtime has raised $80 million in Series C funding from investors including Bezos Expeditions (the personal investment company of Jeff Bezos), Drake and more than 25 current and former NBA stars including Trae Young, Devin Booker, Klay Thompson and Pau Gasol.
In total, Overtime, which was founded in 2016, has now raised more than $140 million in funding.
It also has 50 million social media followers and crosses verticals from content to e-commerce, its sports app, and live events. It said the fresh funds will go in part to develop new basketball league OTE (Overtime Elite), guaranteeing salaries for athletes and hiring a staff 80 league employees to launch an inaugural season in September.
The funding round was led by return investors Sapphire Sport and Black Capital along with Micromanagement Ventures (the family of the late David Stern), Alexis Ohanian, Jeff Kearl (via Pelion Capital), Morgan Stanley Counterpoint Global and Blackstone Strategic Partners.
“The breadth and diversity of this investment group, including leaders from business, entertainment, technology and sports, speaks to Overtime’s remarkable growth and our future trajectory,” said Dan Porter, Overtime’s CEO and co-founder. “We believe this is just the tip of the iceberg, as we develop new ways for Overtime to engage with and entertain the next generation of athletes and fans.”
The new funding will also go toward building internal capabilities around NFTs — or non-fungible tokens, the latest craze — trading cards, and ways to tailor sports betting “for the next generation of fans.” Overtime will continue investing in its sports app.
The full list of current and former NBA players invested in this round, including Deandre Ayton, Lonzo Ball, Will Barton, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox, Pau Gasol, Aaron Gordon, Danny Green, Zach LaVine, Kyle Lowry, Kenyon Martin, JaVale McGee, Khris Middleton, Kelly Olynyk, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Domas Sabonis, Garrett Temple, Isaiah Thomas, Klay Thompson, Thaddeus Young, Trae Young, Gerald Wallace, Hassan Whiteside, Andrew Wiggins, and Nick “Swaggy P” Young.
Other investors include PROOF, Gaingels, Concrete Rose Capital, Dentsu Ventures, Intersect Capital, LightShed Ventures, WNBA All-Star and commentator Chiney Ogwumike, Rogue Insight Capital, Bakari Sellers, 10X Capital, True Capital Management, and Ares Management’s Nate Walton.
– Published by Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, April 22, 2021
