The Walt Disney Co. is cutting another major creator deal, this time with the prolific sports-focused Dude Perfect, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The deal, which the company is framing as a “company-wide creative partnership,” will span entertainment sports, consumer products and experiences.
Like Disney’s other creator deals, it will see Dude Perfect content come to Disney+, including some of the group’s library shows. But it will also see the group create original content for its platforms and channels inspired by Disney events, with Super Bowl LXI, the 50th anniversary of Star Wars, and Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday among the projects being highlighted.
Dude Perfect was founded in 2009 when Tyler Toney, Coby Cotton, Cory Cotton, Garrett Hilbert and Cody Jones were all students at Texas A&M and decided to start a trick shot YouTube channel. It has since grown into a fully-fledged studio, with an 80,000-square foot facility in Frisco, Texas, and a full slate of programming and brand deals.
Dude Perfect raised $100 million from Highmount Capital in 2024 to help it kickstart its growth, with Coby Cotton telling THR at the time that they wanted to push further into live events and products, two areas that Disney happens to have particular expertise in.
Disney, meanwhile, has inked deals with creators like Dhar Mann and Like Nastya as it seeks to push further into that ecosystem. It also has a deal with TikTok that will bring some short-form content to Disney+.
Dude Perfect and Disney have worked together in the past, with the creators publishing videos like “Going to Every Disney Park in 75 Hours,” but the new deal significantly builds on that relationship.
“Disney has always been a place where great storytellers come to create, and Dude Perfect brings a distinctive voice and an inventive approach to everything they do,” said Asad Ayaz, Disney’s chief marketing and brand officer, in a statement. “By building on our longstanding relationship, we’re able to give fans even more ways to experience and be part of the Disney stories they love.”
“We’ve been Disney kids forever, from wearing out the VHS tape of The Lion King to making core memories as a family at Disney World,” added Dude Perfect co-founder Garrett Hilbert. “Disney taught us to go big and dream, and that has shaped everything we’ve built. Now, we get to make more of those dreams come to life with the Disney team, and we can’t wait to bring our fans along for the ride.”