An early draft of ESL’s LANXNESS agreement between the CS:GO Pro League and organizations has revealed information regarding exclusivity and financial oversight, according to a report from Richard Lewis earlier today.
The draft, which was sent to teams last year, details several clauses that teams have to abide by if they were to join the Pro League. The new Pro Tour, which will be introduced in 2020, details 21.25 percent in gross revenue and 60 percent of profits in the first year. All teams will not receive an equal share, however. For example, a team that does not surpass the top 500 in the world will lose their revenue share.
Similar to other franchised leagues like the Overwatch League and the Call of Duty League, the ESL Pro League will scout a league commissioner, which will serve as a liaison between players and organizations.
Arguably most apparent is the exclusivity clause. This says ESL has the right to veto “exclusivity terms.” Furthermore, ESL had previously noted that teams shall not be able to participate in other leagues while in the ESL Pro League, as originally reported by Jarek “DeKay” Lewis in September. Valve warned of the potential dangers behind exclusivity.
This exclusivity term prompted CS:GO developers Valve to release a statement surrounding the clause titled “Keeping Things Competitive.”
“At this time we are not interested in providing licenses for events that restrict participating teams from attending other events,” Valve said. Therefore, ESL will change its draft accordingly.
