Toronto Defiant reach agreement with OWL to “eliminate entry fees”

Overwatch League franchise Toronto Defiant and its parent company, OverActive Media, have reached an agreement with the league, of which highlights include a sponsorship deal and “the elimination of outstanding entry fees.”

When the Overwatch League was founded in 2017, each of the 12 teams agreed to a $20 million entry fee, to be paid in installments over a certain period.

When the world came to a halt in 2020 amid the global health situation, with a shift to online events and reduced opportunities for revenue, Activision started to defer all payments for both the Overwatch League and Call of Duty League, with teams stopping their payments to the publisher to provide them some financial aid.

The financial situations of teams in both leagues have struggled to reach the highs that were expected. Florida Mayhem & Mutineers CEO Ben Spoont suggested as much, saying that investors “drank the Kool-Aid” of execs who sold them on the “meteoric” growth of these leagues.

OWL teams, in particular, have reached boiling point, and as such, drastic measures have been taken.

Toronto Defiant agreement with OWL

In an announcement made on Monday, June 5, OverActive Media announced that they had come to a huge agreement with the Overwatch League, that could be set to change the outlook of the league entirely.

The announcement read:

“Key highlights of the agreement include the signing of a sponsorship deal between the Toronto Defiant and the Overwatch League and the elimination of outstanding entry fees. The agreement also provides for the parties to explore further changes to the Overwatch League business plan moving forward.

“The value of this agreement, which includes early payment of league revenue share, the sponsorship agreement and the elimination of entry fees, is valued at $10.8 million CAD, most of which will be recorded in the 2023 fiscal year.”

According to a report from the Sports Business Journal, Activision Blizzard has reached a similar agreement with the remaining Overwatch League franchises. Moreover, there’s also the possibility that the Call of Duty teams will ask for the same deal, which would mark a huge shift in the Activision franchised esports efforts.