*By Zane Bhansali and Chris Jalandoni*
TSM’s Fortnite pro Ali "Myth" Kabbani ignited a conversation last month about esports player unions when he suggested he might start one for the Fortnite community. But esports unions were on the mind of Stephen "Snoopeh" Ellis long before Kabbani pushed them into gamers' consciousness.
A League of Legends World Championship semi-finalist, Snoopeh first proposed the concept of esports player unions in 2014 after retiring from competitive play. In a Reddit discussion that year, Snoopeh commented that he was “currently deliberating the formation of a player union to help standardize contracts and create transparency between players and teams.”
But Snoopeh later amended his comment, rephrasing union as “player association.” A year later, he shifted his position again, saying that while he thought unions “may be necessary down the road, we are not at that point yet” due to cost and legal complexity.
Today, Snoopeh stands by that judgment. On the topic of Myth’s hypothetical union, Snoopeh said one of the main obstacles to creating a Fortnite union is the relatively small scale of the game's professional player base ー especially measured against its massive casual player base.
“If you’re Epic Games, why do you necessarily want to cater to a small fraction of your player base when you’ve got this $3 billion a year revenue to cater to?” Snoopeh asked during an interview with Cheddar Sports.
In his view, the players themselves are the biggest barriers to unionization. “One of the things that would be super important in a union is getting the players to fund the member dues,” he said. “None of the players necessarily want to part with any cash.”
That attitude is emblematic of the gaps in the still-growing esports industry. “As recently as this year, we’ve got players that are still not getting to look at contracts,” Snoopeh said. “There’s a huge lack of education and awareness amongst players in the importance of taking their career seriously.”
To that end, Snoopeh started the “Player Resource Center” in partnership with attorney Bryce Blum in 2016 to educate players on legal issues and health insurance.
For him, a union isn’t possible until that basic foundation is laid ー and players realize its importance.
“I think ultimately the responsibility is on the players,” he said. “Esports is still \[new\], even though it’s been around 20, 30 years ー it’s still a really young ecosystem. If you look at other successful unions in different sports, the players running those were playing for decades. We don’t have that history or that longevity yet in esports.”
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Feb. 4, 2019.
While the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams face off for the Super Bowl title, advertisers will be waging their own battles during Twitter's Brand Bowl 53. Ryan Oliver, senior director of brand strategy for the U.S. and Canada at Twitter ($TWTR), said the Brand Bowl is a celebration of the advertisers that are being talked about on Twitter.
Wine manufacturer Yellow Tail can’t buy a national ad during the Super Bowl ー but that won't stop the company from getting its “Tastes like Happy” campaign out to the public in spectacular fashion. To skirt the category exclusivity hold that Anheuser-Busch InBev ($BUD) has on the Big Game, Yellow Tail bought 81 local ads ー which cover about 90 percent of the nation.
Millions of people around the world are getting ready for the Super Bowl on Sunday. And while the day is all fun and games, there's still a serious discussion happening about player safety. Now, two leading sports brands have teamed up to design new, state-of-the-art equipment using 3D printing. Joe DeSimone, co-founder and CEO of Carbon, stopped by Cheddar with more on how technology is making football more safe, head to toe.
Luke Wilson is taking a short break from Hollywood. A commercial break. The "Rushmore" and "Old School" actor is starring in his first Super Bowl commercial, and he says the 30-second Colgate spot will probably get more views than any of his movies. "I think more people will see this than any movie I've ever been in for sure," Wilson told Cheddar on Friday.
Draftkings CEO Jason Robins told Cheddar that New Jersey residents alone could wager as much as $100 million on the Super Bowl, the first time sports betting will be legal there for the big game.
Although it has 3 million customers, home security company SimpliSafe isn’t a household name yet. It’s hoping that will change on Sunday after its first Super Bowl ad airs.“In a market where people are trying to lock you in a contract or harvest your data, we’re trying to keep you safe,” brand creative director Wade Devers told Cheddar. “There aren’t really a lot of places you can reach the number of people you can reach like the Super Bowl.”
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Feb. 1, 2019.
On Super Bowl Sunday, the Hallmark Channel will be home to the sixth annual Kitten Bowl, the annual matchup of cat-letes held to benefit the North Shore Animal League. Beth Stern, host of the Kitten Bowl and spokesperson for North Shore (and wife to Howard), brought a pair of 12-week Siamese kittens to Cheddar Thursday to help promote a new event this year: the first-ever Cat Bowl.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019.
