Stephen "Snoopeh" Ellis considering forming player union

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

After SK Gaming manager made allegations that Spanish League of Legends player Ocelote's salary claims "don't add up", Stephen "Snoopeh" Ellis commented on the situation:

I refrained from commenting directly on the article when asked to previously (this was actually quite a while ago), mostly out of respect for Carlos and at the same time not wanting to sound bitter or such.

I don't understand why we have to artificially inflate our salaries or our social media platforms - I think we should be damn proud players are making in excess of $100,000 a year. A realistic range of player incomes on the top end (including endorsements, stream revenue & salaries) is around $100,000-$200,000 annually - obviously newer players will be limited to Riot salaries or a little bit more than that ($25,000 /annually). When I first entered eSports approximately 3 years ago, I was making nothing - the amount players are making now should be celebrated.

I can understand the reason for exaggerating your personal wealth, or artificially inflating your social media followers - this results in flashy headlines and gives you power when negotiating deals/contracts. Allowing you to stand above the rest when companies are looking at investing into this space. However it is unfair to your fellow competitors, when you are grossly exaggerating your own numbers.

I really wish I had more time on my hands, I'm currently deliberating the formation of a player union to help standardize contracts and create transparency between players and teams. It would also help to provide power to the player which typically they lack in their current contracts between team owners and themselves. Comparing eSports contracts to Sports contracts such as the NBA, NFL or MLB is genuinely laughable - even if they should really follow the same premise (of course the money is less significant, but principals the same).

I'm willing to answer some questions on this topic, at the same time I want to respect the sensitive nature of it - so feel free to ask.

TLDR: don't want to sound bitter, but it's about time this was brought to light - we should be proud of how far we have come, we don't have to exaggerate our success.

He went on to state the benefits of a potential player union:

This is one of the biggest factors, with the continued growth of eSports and by nature the young talented kids that get involved have very little to no financial experience. Normally you would turn to your parents in situations like this, but their parents have absolutely no idea what eSports is.

Ellis also shared his thoughts on the current state of esport contracts:

Yes they are, I have looked at several and compared them to NBA/NFL/MLB contracts.

Why would you not? If no one is willing to speak out against you - you really have nothing to lose and because there is no transparency.. no one can really call you out.

It allows you to demand more from sponsors and teams, makes you more valuable and also attributes to flashy headlines when "Video Game Professional makes $1,000,000 per annum"

He went on to say:

Image Credit: Evil Geniuses