A 17-year-old has signed a $150,000 contract to play Overwatch – or rather his mother signed it for him. Jay Won could wind up making far more money in bonuses.
Won, known among gamers as “sinatraa”, will play for San Francisco’s NRG Esports team in the first national Overwatch league to use NFL-style city franchising. He’s now become the league’s highest-paid player.
His base salary is $100,000 more than the league minimum, the fee driven up by a bidding war between NRG and rival Cloud9, which holds the London franchise. League rules mean he’ll also receive housing, health insurance and a retirement plan.
Along with his teammates, Won will share 50 percent of the win bonuses earned by the team, with the rest going to the team owners. The overall winning team will receive a million dollars, so with team sizes of six to 12 players, players could get as much as $83,000.