Overtime is teaming up with Cam Newton to launch its own 7-on-7 youth football tournament as the media brand looks to continue building its own sports IP.
OT7 will feature up to 24 U-18 teams competing in Las Vegas for a week this June, though the winner might not be crowned on Overtime’s media channels until well after the June 12 final.
Instead, Overtime plans to stretch its coverage of the competition (which includes an off day dedicated to content creation) to introduce various players and create the type of buzz around high school football stars that basketball prospects currently enjoy. “The power of essentially asynchronous viewing on demand allows us to tell the story in a more elevated way,” Overtime CEO Dan Porter said.
Newton will serve as an equity partner, strategic advisor and board member for the new property. The former No. 1 pick has become a staple of the 7-on-7 circuit, currently running eight teams.
“7 on 7 was an invaluable outlet to me growing up, and many professional football players would not be where they are today without that exposure and training in the spring,” Newton said in a statement. “I felt that now was the time to leverage my knowledge of the space and partner with Overtime to give 7 on 7 the exposure and investment it deserves.”
Overtime plans to add a few twists to traditional 7-on-7 rules, which uses touch rules instead of tackling but still has players wearing helmets without facemasks for safety. Porter said the company is looking to add multiple large, non-endemic sponsors for the event.
A year ago, Overtime launched Overtime Elite, an Atlanta-based alternative pathway to pro basketball that paid teenagers six-figure salaries (OT7 competitors won’t be cashing checks for now). The company claims to have the largest football-focused TikTok account among US media (OT SZN, 2.5 million followers) and the largest dedicated YouTube channel for the sport (1 billion minutes consumed in 2021). Overall, Overtime boasts 65 million followers across its platforms, which now includes Discord as well.
