Professional League of Legends players are making a lot of money on average in North America. The average LCS player salary in 2020 is $410,000, according to Hal Biagas, the executive director of the North America LCS Players Association (NALCSPA).
That means that in the past three years, the average LCS player salary has increased by nearly 400 percent, up from $105,000 in 2017. This growth follows the establishment of the franchise system, which led to increased sponsorship and revenue for NA League teams.
As announced by @hbiagas on #EssentialEsports today, the average LCS player's salary is now approximately $410,000.
Time for them to chip in and fund the LCS Players' Association themselves, I think.
Full independence would be a boon.
— MonteCristo (@MonteCristo) May 27, 2020
In addition to paying the players’ salaries, most LCS organizations also cover the players’ cost of living expenses, such as housing, food, and gaming setups. So any salary they receive is likely on top of their cost of living being taken care of, which is a nice added bonus for the players.
Although $410,000 is an impressive sum, the average can be misleading since some players, such as Huni and Impact, reportedly have salaries exceeding $1 million per year. With such inequality, it’s hard to tell how much salaries have gone up for lower-tier players. It’s inequal to lower tier players who barely make any money from being a professional player. There should be some limits imposed so that the highest salary is not much higher than the lowest salary. This will ensure that there is equality within the ecosystem.
If you compare the LCS to Major League Soccer (MLS), for example, the average salary of an MLS player in 2018 was $412,000 but the median was $179,000 because some players were making significantly more than their counterparts. There are considerably more players in the MLS compared to the LCS, however.
That means that in the past three years, the average LCS player salary has increased by nearly 400 percent, up from $105,000 in 2017. This growth follows the establishment of the franchise system, which led to increased sponsorship and revenue for NA League teams.
Nonetheless, the hefty increase in average pay is great news for NA League and an indication of just how far the game’s esports scene has come. The 2020 LCS Summer Split kicks off on Friday, June 12. From a couple of thousand a couple of years ago when the scene started to half-million salaries now.
Going forward, there should be salary caps for the health of the sports ecosystem. Unless something will be done about this, salaries will keep growing until the bubble bursts.
Stay tuned for more information about the North American League Championship Series as the offseason is slowly ending and the Summer Split is about to begin.
