Franchise Fees for Overwatch eSports Teams Could Soar
*By Christian Smith*
Franchise fees to get into season three of the Overwatch League could reach $100 million dollars for investors that don't make the cut for season two.
That's according to eSports expert Rod Breslau, better known as "Slasher" in the gaming community.
"There is a fear of missing out," Breslau said in an interview Friday with Cheddar. "So I think a lot of these big brands and sports teams in North America and in Europe are going to want to get in now."
The 12 teams that played in the inaugural season, which kicked off last December, only had to pay $20 million to Activision Blizzard, the company that created Overwatch.
But the cost of entry for *new teams* has spiked along with interest in the game. Overwatch League averages 80,000 to 170,000 concurrent viewers on streaming platform Twitch, and it's brought in $150 million in sponsorship and broadcasting rights deals.
[ESPN first reported](http://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/23464637/overwatch-league-expansion-slots-expected-30-60-million) that new teams will have to pay between $30 and $60 million in fees for season two, numbers Breslau says his sources confirmed.
The Overwatch League announced on Wednesday that it will host the debut season's Grand Finals at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY from July 27-28.
Some serious cash is on the line at the championship event. The winning team will receive a $1 million bonus - with nine to 12 players on each team, that works out to a haul of upwards of $100,000 each, in one weekend. The runner-up gets a cash boost of $400,000, and the third and fourth place teams will each haul in an extra $100,000.
For anyone new to the world of eSports, Overwatch is a first-person shooter game that was released on May 24, 2016 by Blizzard Entertainment, the same company behind the popular World of Warcraft franchise. Two teams of six players face off in a robot-filled, near-future Earth. Overwatch League teams are allowed to have six additional players that can be swapped between matches.
The Overwatch League is currently comprised of 12 teams - nine American ones (Boston, Dallas, Florida, Houston, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and two from Los Angeles) and three international (London, Seoul, and Shanghai). Teams are split between the Atlantic and Pacific divisions. Players make a minimum base salary of $50,000, receive housing during the season, healthcare coverage, and a retirement savings plan according to the [Overwatch League's website](https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/about).
The top six teams this season will go head-to-head in the Grand Finals at the Barclays Center. Breslau says he's confident that New York's team will bring home the first-ever Overwatch League trophy.
"New York Excel champions season one, no problem. They're going to beat, I would say, the London team in the finals," Breslau said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/barclays-center-to-host-first-ever-overwatch-league-grand-finals).
More than 70 religious leaders have come together to sign a letter to urge Mark Zuckerberg and Meta to halt plans for Instagram for Kids. The signers claim that this new platform, currently on pause, could cause spiritual harm to young people. Lucy Kidwell, the screen-free week coordinator for the nonprofit that organized the letter, Fairplay, joined Cheddar News to discuss the issue on Safer Internet Day. "It's not necessarily the content, even, that's on these platforms, but more the structure of the app itself," she said. "It's all focused on comparison, promoting yourself, putting forward this image of perfection and this beautiful life that's really harmful to kids who can't really separate what's real and what's fake and who may not be emotionally mature enough to handle something so complicated."
Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama are set to begin voting to unionize for a second time after workers at the facility in the town of Bessemer overwhelmingly voted against forming a union during an election early last year; but in November, the National Labor Relations Board overturned the vote, upholding a union challenge of the results which argued that Amazon undermined the conditions for a fair election. Another round of ballots will now be mailed out to works at the warehouse for a so-called re-run election. Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University John Logan and National Field Director for Our Revolution Mike Oles joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
February 8 is Safer Internet Day, and Google has partnered with online education organization Khan Academy to release a courseload focused on internet safety. The partnership includes a $5 million donation towards content development from Google, with modules to be made available in various languages throughout 2022. Founder of Khan Academy, Sal Khan, joined Cheddar News to discuss the partnership. "We need to get to a world where everyone of all ages has a chance to learn and practice and feel good that they can navigate the internet in a safe way,” said Khan.
Big tech companies such as Amazon and Google are garnering criticism for failing at their proposed climate pledges, most of which rely on carbon offsets — a potential loophole where companies pay others to address their omissions. Gilles Dufrasne, policy officer at Carbon Market Watch, joined Cheddar News to explain the organization's negative evaluation. "The objective here is not to bash companies and say everybody is doing the wrong thing," he said. "The objective is to also provide lessons, and there are some companies that are doing the right thing."
U.S. markets opened lower as disappointing Meta earnings dragged down the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Today, investors will be watching for Amazon's Q4 earnings report set for release after the market close. Greg Swenson, Founding Partner, Brigg Macadam joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
