Esports Player Unionization Depends on Players, Says LoL Legend Snoopeh
*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.”
Tom Shannon, Bowlero CEO, joined Cheddar to discuss the decision to bring the company to the New York Stock Exchange via a SPAC merger with Isos Acquisition Corporation. Shannon said one of the goals of the public offering is to expand operations internationally, noting that Bowlero has the potential to reach worldwide markets due to the sport's popularity. "Bowling is a global market, and I'll give you an example. In South Korea, there are three million league bowlers and 1,200 bowling centers in South Korea alone," he said.
Stefan Olander, Co-Founder of Omorpho, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how they are bringing innovation into athleticwear by creating 'gravity sportswear.'
This year on Black Friday, the National Basketball Players Association launched a traveling NBPA-branded holiday pop-up called 'NBPA 450 Gives.' This was a 14-day long experiential and digital activation showcasing the best gifts for this holiday season, featuring items from black-owned businesses to celebrate Google's black-owned Friday initiative. JD sat down with Brooklyn Nets player, Blake Griffin, who helped launch this initiative.
We're entering a brave new world of broadly legal sports betting. Over 30 states and Washington, DC, have legalized sports betting in the year and a half since the supreme court struck down the federal ban on the activity.
But legalization isn't a simple proposition. The federal law might be struck down but its still up to each state to decide whether to legalize sports betting, and answer a litany of questions that come with it. Should you include online gambling? How much should people be allowed to bet? Should there be limits on advertising for sports betting?
Darren Heitner, founder of Heitner Legal, and Daniel Wallach, founder of Wallach Legal, join None of the Above's "Business of Sports: The Year Gambling Took Over" special to discuss.
Carlo and Baker cover the latest data showing the Omicron wave has likely started, Pfizer's Covid pill, Jan. 6 and a box office rescue attempt courtesy of Spider-Man.
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is slated to be the home of Super Bowl LVIII in 2024. The stadium was completed in July 2020 for a price tag of $1.8 billion.
Rachel Bachman, senior sports reporter at the Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she explains how U.S. athletes have been inserted into the middle of a political debate after the country declared a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing.
