Jackson Olson‘s antics for the Savannah Bananas aren’t just catching the notice of fans.
WME has signed on to represent the colorful 27-year-old infielder in all area, a sign of the growing attention being paid to the Bananas, a barnstorming exhibition team who do for baseball what the Harlem Globetrotters did for basketball. Players often break out into dance and comedy routines during the unscripted game and between innings. Disney’s ESPN2 and ESPN+ and Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports have televised Bananas events in the recent past, as have Roku and Nexstar’s CW Network.
In addition to winning notice on the field , the 27-year-old Olson is building a digital presence. He has approximately two million followers on TikTok, and 920,000 on Instagram. A series of viral videos he made caught the gaze of Bananas owner Jesse Cole, who hired Olson. The Bananas are part of Fans First Entertainment, Cole’s company.
“I came to Savannah not knowing if I was going to be playing the next year here, or the next year, or the next year. It was really just I was gonna come and play six games in 2022 for the summer series,” Olson told WFSB, a Hartford TV station, earlier this year. “I was enjoying those games as much as I possibly could because this could be over after those six. But luckily I got to play the next year, and the next year, and now this year in 2025.”
He also has an interesting backstory. Olson, who grew up in New Milford, CT, was on the University of Hartford’s baseball team and played summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League. But he declined an offer to play for the Arizona Diamondbacks so he could complete his college education. And he got serious about posting videos on TikTok.
WME intends to work with Olson to expand his influence with brands, entrepreneurial ventures, media and content. He is managed by Max Fleming, founder and CEO of Motive.