How Do Esports Players Get Paid?

A lot of people are interested in how esports players get paid. The answer may surprise you.

Salaries

While some esport organizations have started to offer player salaries, most esports athletes are still paid entirely through prize money earned in competitions. Prize money is largely determined by two factors: the number of people who enter the tournament and the size of the tournament’s total prize pool. The total prize pool is often generated through sponsorship deals, ticket sales, and online donations. For example, this year’s Dota 2 International Championship had a base prize pool of $1 million that was increased to over $24 million through community contributions.

The top performers in any given tournament will usually earn the lion’s share of the prize money. For example, 1st place at The International 2017 earned 37% of the $24 million prize pool, while last place only earned 0.62%. However, even winning a minor tournament can provide a significant financial boost to an esports athlete’s career.

In addition to prize money, some esports athletes also earn income from sponsorships and endorsement deals. These can be lucrative arrangements, but they are generally only available to the most successful and popular players in each discipline. For example, Korean League of Legends star Faker is currently sponsored by several different companies and is reported to be earning more than $2 million per year from these deals alone.

Prize Money

The most common way that esports athletes make money is through prize money. Tournaments will have a large pot that is split between the winning team or player. The size of the prize pool depends on the game, the tournament, and how many people enter. Some small tournaments might only offer a couple hundred dollars, while others, like The International for Dota 2, can offer over $20 million. In addition to winning prize money from tournaments, players can also earn a salary from their team or organization. This is becoming more common as esports grows as a professional industry. Players might also make money through sponsorships and streaming platforms like Twitch.

Sponsorships

Many professional esports players are signed to organization rosters and receive a base salary from their team. In addition to their salary, players may earn income through sponsorships and tournament prize winnings. Sponsorship deals between an Individual player and an outside company or brand are not uncommon in the world of professional gaming. These types of sponsorship usually revolve around the player promoting the sponsor’s product or service on their personal social media channels or during public appearances. For example, a energy drink company might sponsor a professional gamer in exchange for that player using their product during broadcasts and wearing apparel with the company’s logo during events.

Ad Revenue

In the most basic sense, esports Players Get Paid through ad revenue. Much like traditional sports, sponsorships are a huge source of income for professional gamers. These can come in the form of direct payments or even more indirect revenue such as ad placements on players’ streams or in their social media posts. Some of the world’s most popular esports players can earn millions of dollars per year just through sponsorships and ads.

Twitch Subscriptions

Twitch subscriptions are the primary way that most professional gamers make a living. Twitch is a live streaming video platform owned by Amazon. It is the go-to spot for gamers to watch other people play games. And, most importantly for our purposes, it allows viewers to subscribe to their favorite gamers’ channels.

When a viewer subscribes to a Twitch channel, they pay $4.99/month. The streamer gets 70% of that, so they make about $3.50/month per subscriber. Most successful streamers have thousands of subscribers, so they can make quite a bit of money just from subscriptions alone!

In addition to subscriptions, Twitch also allows viewers to donate money directly to their favorite streamers. This is completely voluntary, and streamers usually set up donation buttons on their Twitch profiles with instructions on how to do it.

Some streamers also have sponsorships from gaming companies. This can take the form of product placement (e.g., wearing or using a company’s products during gameplay) or simply being paid to promote a company’s products on their channel.

Finally, many professional gamers also make money by selling merchandise like t-shirts, hoodies, and mouse pads with their gamer tag or logo on it.