Riot Games detailed its plans to bring franchising to the European League Championship Series, echoing the model for its North American counterpart. Thursday morning saw Riot post details about the move, noting that “We want to make the EU LCS a multi-generational sports league that allows fans to forge lasting connections with the teams and pros they love.” They noted that building a long-term partnership structure would be the best path forward because it 1) provided teams with more security to make longer investments that will strengthen and support pros, 2) long term partnerships unlock revenue sharing, and 3) partnering with strong organizations would allow them to focus on shaping the long-term future of the EU LCS.
Benefits would see players draw a minimum salary for pros in the league to €60k per year and revenues would be divided with 35% going to players, 32.5% to teams and 32.5% to Riot. According to ESPN, buy-in prices will be 8 million Euros ($9.93 million) for existing teams who currently participate in the league, and 10.5 million Euros ($13.02 million) for non-endemic teams who wish to enter the league for the first time.
