As League Of Legends is becoming more popular, as are Esports in general, it is inevitable that a lot of people want in on the revenue to be gained in such a career. If anyone decides to take gaming to a professional level, they need to be aware of what lies ahead. Please do not assume that professional gaming is an easy job; as with any other professional sport, those who can make a living from eSports have to be of the highest standard. Here are a few ways that professional players earn money, and a very general look into the types of contracts that they sign up to.
Streaming
Advertising, viewers and subscriptions are the three ways to earn money through streaming. Put simply, the more people who view your stream and subscribe, the more people are exposed to the advertisements you carry, and the more money you are going to make. Streaming is a fairly risky way to make money; it requires a fairly sizable amount of viewers in order to receive appreciable income.
Professional streamers such as Bjergsen, Wildturtle, Krepo and others, generally find it easier to ensure they're receiving sufficient views, as they are high-profile and popular figures; individually, each of the mot popular streamers can essentialy gurantee tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of viewers, and thereby assure themselves of a fair advertising income.
There are a few reasons why professional players decide to stream more regularly in the pre-season than at any other time: for the purposes of this discussion, we'll focus on the most basic one - there is money to be made. Cynical as that may seem, it's also true; to professional players, League of Legends is a business, and they treat it as such. It's smart to take advantage of the pre-season time and use it to stream to make extra money before the new season begins. Some people might contend that there are more pressing non-financial reasons, to which I say, sorry, but I don't believe that every professional streamer decides to stream for 12 hours a day solely for the joy of doing so.
I am not one of those LoL players who can watch streams on a daily basis; personally, I find them tedious for a variety of reasons, but my own personal pet hate is when streamers develop a smug, self-satisfied demeanor, that sense that they feel are superior than the person watching them (not a superior player, but just generally superior). I don't intend to use this blog post as advertisement to the streams I do watch, therefore I will try my best not to use names, but I personally enjoy watching streams from professionals who actually teach me something of use to me in my endeavour to improve as a LoL player. It is insanely dull to sit and watch someone in Challenger without them discussing the champ they've selected, the pros and cons of their team composition, the intent behind their choices, or plays they make. There are some streamers who will pick out champions to play which their fans have asked for and discuss builds, mastery and runes choices which complement their play-style and so on, while they wait for the queue to pop. I think this should be more commonplace; it is the viewers who are contributing the money, so why not give them something they want?
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| Play Jinx Pwease? :3 |
Sponsors
You see hundreds of professional players who have their little sponsor at the bottom of their stream or their team-made mouse specially designed. Guess why? Money.
Sponsors are a good source of income, but they shouldn't be the only source of income. If a business takes a downturn, or a recession hits, sponsorships dry up, as businesses become less willing to sponsor a team; this results in less income. If you are caught using a product other than you're sponsored product (even if the sponsors isn't your personal preference), then it will void your sponsorship contract, and you might in fact owe them a fair amount of money, depending upon the specifics of the contract you signed (always read the fineprint, even though it's tedious). It might sound strange, but it is a big deal . . . I told you to use the EG toothpaste, nothing else! I don't care if CLG's make your teeth more whitened!
Merchandise
Players may receive a percentage on merchandising income, depending on what their contract states; this is unlikely to apply just yet, but over time such arrangements became more and more commonplace amongst professional athletes, actors and musicians, and I imagine it'll eventually happen in eSports.
Player Contracts
Each player will be required to sign a contract with their team, and it is this contract which will enumerate which will the terms and conditions of their employment, though it should be noted the contract is binding for both parties. It will detail things like their salary, and what percentage of money they earn from competitions. People need to remind themselves that though they're playing a game, a team is still a business, and it is difficult to run a business in even the best of circumstances. As Esports in general, and LoL in particular, are growing rapidly, a lot of changes have begun to occur in the professional LoL world, most noticeably a plethora of roster changes. To put it simply, if you're not performing well, you're not going to make money for your team, and you will probably end up being kicked or put as a substitute.
Morals clause
Most contracts will have a version of this. In most industries, the morals clause is designed to protect the company from negative publicity relating to alcohol abuse, gambling, drug addiction, prostitution and the like; in League terms, it will also be included as a catch-all to cover trolling, toxic behavior, abusive language and anything else that might lead to an account being banned by Riot. If a professional player gets banned for any reason, their team is likely under no obligation to retain their services, and is in fact deeply unlikely to do so. I think we all remember this post (
http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=2864421), which was the beginning of Riot deciding that enough was enough in terms of high-ranking players getting away with their toxic behavior. How far will Riot take their stewardship of professional League?
NDA (non-disclosure agreement)
In simplest terms, an NDA prevents a player from discussing any protected information regarding their contract; this can range from trade secrets down to petty arguments among the team. If your AD Carry was earning twice what you were, and you knew it, that could cause some tension and a lot of other issues. If you both decided to argue about it, you could potentially be kicked from your team, since you technically broke the contract, though this use of an NDA is rare. On the other hand, as a player you could also be giving yourself away for a bargain price, since you don't know how much the other players get paid. It also prevents players becoming big-headed pigs; it would be too easy to consider yourself a more important asset than one of your teammate, which is a less than helpful attitude in any team environment.
Non-competition clause
A contract with a non-competition clause essentially prevents an individual from operating in direct competition to the organization they signed with for a set period of time. It's important to note that even if you're not actively working FOR them, you still can't work in any manner they regard as AGAINST them.
Non-competition clauses are relatively commonplace in sporting contracts, though their true utility is in business law. Since a professional player will be working closely with their team for a potentially great deal of time, they'll get to know their strategies and develop a lot of personal insights about the teammates; it would be devastating to see them leave with all that knowledge, and take it to an opposing team who will use it against you. I am unsure if this happens particularly often in the LoL world, but the clause can also be used to essentially 'buyout' someone so that they are unable to compete against you. You don't want X-peke to play against you? Sign him up for a 6 months trial-period with a non-competition clause in his contract, then bench him. He'll be left unable to play against you for the season. I honestly doubt this happens currently, but as Esports and League of Legends grows it will be interesting to see if things like this will occur with any frequency.
This is a sample contract I found that can give you a rough idea about the type of contracts Esport players sign (It is not an official one, just an example, but I'd be surprised if it doesn't bear more than a passing resemblance to official contracts).
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CEkQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpeecee.dk%2Fupload%2Fdownload%2F329286&ei=6PGKUv_yH4PNtAb6p4HACg&usg=AFQjCNGfVklqXCzxJOWSpp34Y8JnCyKYdg&sig2=8FfxWS4N-6bFb_EZEwuRQw&bvm=bv.56643336,d.Yms
Show me the money
The highest League of Legends earner, according to this list, is the well-known Faker, with annual earnings of $229,483.95 (this includes winning the Worlds, and every other prize for the year, in addition to basic salary).
It is actually fairly depressing to see the vast difference in earnings between genders; it's no wonder that female streamers have to focus on donations, rather than viewers and other revenue sources. Personally, I don't mind donations: if people want to give you money then let them do it, but what concerns me is the prevalence of overly sexualized streams featuring female players
Is this the only way for female streamers to gain any revenue? Can we be taken seriously in the gaming industry as equals when the majority of female streams portray rather more sex than skill? If you wanna show a piece of artwork on your stream, then by all means do it; you wanna show off that you're a size double-D, then go for it; if you are proud of your appearance then by all means show it off, but please back it up with some actual gaming skill. I wouldn't watch a stream if someone was really bad at LoL, therefore I wouldn't watch a stream if they are bad and beautiful; it is the lack of talent which is the important distinction. Porn is free on the web, no-one needs to watch someone be shit at a game to get excited. Well, maybe they do, I suppose - rule 34 and all that . . .
This is why I have respect for people such as lilypichu; when she streams she doesn't show herself, she just shows her champ kicking ass. WHY?! Because she is playing League of Legends; what does it have to do with how she looks? /respect.
League of Legends as a job
You have to consider that you will be playing this game for a great deal of time if you make it professionally; playing for numerous hours not just for fun but because you are contractually obligated to do so, by a team, with the intent to win tournaments. A lot of time is spent training to maintain status as a top player in any sport, and like any sport you will only have a certain amount of time that you can be a professional player. It isn't a career for life, although it can open up other career venues, such as coach, manager, analyst, shout caster, and the like. But very few professional player will take that route, as not everyone is suitable in those roles and there just aren't that many jobs out there for everyone.
Think long and hard about what you want; if it's something you truly desire, then follow your dream (as in all good Disney movies), but just be aware that it isn't as glamorous as it might appear at first glance. It is more difficult when you are younger and have the opportunity to go to college or university, but that's also when you have the best chance at becoming a professional player. Think about what you will have in your life, what can you do after you're gaming career; just don't leave yourself with no careers prospects.
Pad.
