OverActive Media, the media and entertainment company that owns and operates the Toronto Defiant franchise in the Overwatch League, has “reached an agreement” with the league to eliminate the franchise’s “outstanding entry fees,” it announced today.
The agreement between the Defiant ownership group and the league includes an “early payment of league revenue share,” a new sponsorship deal between the Defiant and the league, and the waiving of all remaining entry fees, according to the announcement from OverActive CEO and co-founder Adam Adamou. OverActive values all three aspects of the agreement at $10.8 million CAD (Canadian dollars), which roughly translates to $8.04 million USD.
According to reporter Jacob Wolf, this deal waives the roughly $8 million in franchise fees owed by the Defiant ownership group to the league—and Wolf believes “all the other franchises” will have their remaining owed balances waived, too. Wolf reported in January that OverActive Media led the charge in starting a collective bargaining process, retaining British law firm Sheridans to negotiate with the OWL on behalf of all the teams.
Teams were reportedly seeking economic relief from high operating costs and an “all-time low” in revenue share following the expiration of the media rights deal with YouTube in 2022, as well as the mass exodus of league sponsors following the state of California’s sexual harassment lawsuit levied against Activision Blizzard in July 2021. The deal between OWL and OverActive, and any subsequent deals with other franchise owners, could potentially be the result of the collective bargaining effort.
Adamou responded to an inquiry from Dot Esports, saying it is “fair to assume that an agreement like this covers all of the teams” but did not outright confirm that other teams were receiving the same deal. Adamou did confirm that today’s agreement was a “part of” the collaborative negotiating process mentioned above.
Dot Esports has reached out to the Overwatch League for additional comment.
