Daniel O’Neill, two-time freestyle frisbee world champion and World Urban Games gold medalist, has signed a one year contract for an undisclosed amount with XDisc marking the biggest endorsement deal in the recent history of the sport.
“The time is right,” O’Neill told the FPA. “I think that disc sports are growing rapidly and despite what we might have expected, 2020 was an especially huge year. XDisc and I have the same mission to spread the jam and to see freestyle frisbee grow. I’ve established myself as one the most important ambassadors and XDisc is clearly one of the most important brands. It’s the official training disc of the FPA for a reason. Together we’re going to get a lot of plastic into hands all over the world.”
While the specifics of the contract remain confidential, XDisc will be providing O’Neill with a retainer and portion of disc sales, as well as tournament funding and merchandise.
Shortly following the announcement of a massive ten million dollar contract between Paul Mcbeth and Discraft, the deal between Daniel O’Neill and XDisc is another indication that disc sports across the board are gaining wider appeal. With a disc manufacturer now sponsoring a player in freestyle as well, the door may be open for other companies to do the same.
XDisc principals Scott Thompson and Bob Kalla could not be more thrilled about the new contract and the future of XDisc.
“A big part of our effort in the last four years has been to create a ground swell and to find out if XDisc has a place in discing on its own; not through short-term hype or by money backing it, but by continued and consistent participation with people who love discing. And we’ve established that it does have value and an audience, especially among youngsters. And to have a world champion like Daniel acknowledge and reinforce the validity and value, the playability and utility, of XDisc is priceless. To a new player just starting out, the word of a trusted, accomplished, respected athlete goes much further than a company’s promises. And of all the discers, all the wonderful people we’ve met and connected to, Daniel is among the brightest lights when it comes to communicating with the public. His commitment and his joy of play is admirable. His excitement is contagious.”
-Scott Thompson
Daniel O’Neill is excited, to say the least, about his new contract. He is unwaveringly optimistic about the growth of freestyle and convinced XDisc is a vital tool to bring about that growth.
“I am willing to put my reputation on the line to support XDisc because I truly believe in the product. When I went to the African Beach Games on behalf of the FPA we brought a bunch of XDiscs with us. A lot of the kids had never seen any disc before. The sheer joy when these kids spun an XDisc on their finger was unforgettable. Watching their faces light up was proof enough for me. XDisc is universal. It takes our difficult discipline of freestyle and makes it accessible to everyone.”
-Daniel O’Neill
The contract is initially for one year, but expected to be renewed for 2022 and beyond. Both O’Neill and the XDisc team seem committed to this partnership long-term. The XDisc team told us,
“Our goal is to be a real player in the sports world. We want to elevate discing and make it have a broader audience. We hope and expect that all the people who are with us now will be with us then. The people who put the energy in at this critical stage of growth and can see the long term vision will be the people who are most valuable to us in the future. As you work together longer you understand each other and it becomes easier and easier to work together. We sponsored Daniel because we know he’s the right fit today and expect him to be the right fit long down the road too.”
-Bob Kalla
In the coming year and beyond, be ready for new and big things from this partnership. This past February was the first ever XDisc division in the Tiny Room Battle Challenge co-hosted by Daniel O’Neill. The XDisc division will be back for Tiny Room 4 and expects an even higher participation rate than the already great turn out for Tiny Room 3. XDisc hopes to expand the number of tournaments featuring an XDisc division in the coming year, pandemic permitting. Further, there is rumour of a possible new product to come from XDisc this year, so watch out for that under the new partnership.
This deal likely marks the biggest player endorsement contract in the sport since the Bud Light team over three decades ago. Disc sports and freestyle frisbee are expanding again. XDisc and Daniel O’Neill are helping lead the way.
To learn more about XDisc, visit XDDisc.com
To learn more about freestyle frisbee, visit freestyledisc.org
Follow @guardianofthedisc on Youtube, Instagram and Tiktok for weekly freestyle content!
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Very happy for this collaboration.
I’ve watched Daniel since his very first day on Sheep Meadow progressing. I knew he was something special.
Here’s to a fruitful endeavor!
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