Thirteen professional Rocket League teams have drafted a letter to Psyonix naming a number of grievances, according to The Esports Observer. The letter was reportedly signed by the owners of G2 Esports, Mousesports, and NRG Esports, among others.
The letter reportedly listed several complaints, including a lack of clear communication coming from Psyonix in regard to schedules and new partnership opportunities for their teams. The teams also complained that the schedule isn’t created far enough in advance, which harms their ability to prepare for the season and schedule their own events. The larger concern for the team owners, however, appears to be the ownership structure of RLCS slots.
RLCS slots are given out to the roster of players, not to their organizations. That means that if the players leave for another organization, the teams lose their slot and can’t field a new lineup to take that RLCS spot. This is obviously a big threat to a team’s investment in their player squads, though it does force orgs to take care of their players or risk losing them. In short, the teams are upset because the players have all the power.
The Esports Observer quoted the letter’s central demand to “[transfer] ownership [of RLCS slots] to the teams, who are the primary caretakers and drivers of player’s health/well-being/growth/financial wherewithal. Ownership of the league spots resting with the teams would allow us to manage player salaries, manage our rosters, and have financial control and ownership over our investment.”
The relationship between teams and their players isn’t governed by Psyonix, according to the Rocket League Championship Series official rules. This leaves many teams in a weird place where they’re on their own to find funding and opportunities to make money through their Rocket League investment.
The RLCS organizations are clearly frustrated about this arrangement. They’ve requested action on the part of Psyonix to provide them with more opportunities to secure their investment and ultimately make money through in-game content and other official support from the developer.
