E-Sport Athlete Lawyers

If you’re an e-sport athlete in need of legal representation, contact Attorney Tom immediately. The growth of e-sports has created new business opportunities and an excellent way for people to make money. However, many of these e-sport athletes are facing a set of legal challenges and unforeseen obstacles. If you don’t hire an experienced lawyer, you could end up signing a contract or endorsement deal that doesn’t adequately benefit you.

Our e-sport athlete lawyers have the knowledge and skill to represent you in all areas of contract negotiations, financial planning, and mediations. We can also act as your agent.

To negotiate a valid contract, we will define the following details clearly, so there’s no confusion:

• Insurance issues
• Equipment agreements
• Expectations of conduct
• Payment amounts
• Schedules
• Sponsorship and endorsement factors

Marketing and Advertising

Athletes in the e-sports industry typically make their money from sponsorships and advertising. When they promote brands online, they must follow statutes and regulations to prevent anyone from suing them. Any post or video that they receive compensation for must include a statement regarding material connection.

A material connection is a relationship between an entity providing a service or product, and the party endorsing it. An endorsement often involves incentives or benefits, such as:

• Financial compensation
• Complimentary product
• Discounts
• Entries to a sweepstakes or contest
• Gifts
• Employment relationship

Athlete Contracts

When you’re negotiating a contract, you need to establish factors, such as payment, sponsorship, merchandise, and deductions. If there’s isn’t specific language in the agreement, it could leave room for scrutiny, which exposes your risk. Without going over every detail with a fine-toothed comb, you may not get paid due to a technicality.

Following are a few factors to consider in regard to contracts:

• Money: You want to get paid for your participation. Provisions regarding payment should include how much you get paid and how often. If you’re playing on a team, you should also include details about any prize money awarded to the team and how that gets split among each player.
• Sponsors: You should establish if you’re allowed a personal sponsor. Also, if there are team sponsorships, you need to outline whether you get a cut.
• Merchandise: In e-sports, just like in traditional sports, there’s merchandise, such as t-shirts. There should be a section in the contract that lists how much money you get from the sale of any merchandise.
• Streaming: Discuss the percentage of streaming revenue the athletes are allowed to keep, such as tips, ad revenue, donations, etc.
• Bonuses: Talk about whether you’ll receive a bonus if your team reaches a specific ranking and how much the bonus will be for each ranking.
• Benching: Establish what your pay would be if you only play for a portion of the event.
• Deductions: Find out if you can deduct any expenses from your prize money.
• Expenses: Determine which expenses get reimbursed, such as hotel accommodations, gas, etc.

Some less common details included in a contract between the e-sport athlete and organization are:

• Content: Ask if you need to post content for the organization’s website and, if so, find out how often.
• Promotional events: Find out if it’s a requirement to attend promotional events and the limit of hours required every month.
• Conduct: Get a copy of the player code of conduct, if one exists, which explains additional rules.
• Equipment: Establish where you get your gear from and if you get to keep it when the contract ends.
• Housing: Discuss the availability of other benefits, such as housing, chefs, and gym memberships.

How Can I Negotiate the Terms of a Contract?

To negotiate a contract, you first need to understand what it says. The documents you sign will dictate every detail of your life as an e-sport athlete. If you sign something before reading the fine print or clarifying what specific sections mean, you could end up in an agreement that doesn’t satisfy your needs.

Follow these tips when you’re negotiating a contract:

• Read it thoroughly. Read it through multiple times, so you know what the organization included in it.
• Some contracts are confusing and include legal jargon most people don’t understand. Make sure someone explains what certain things mean, so you don’t agree to something that doesn’t benefit you.
• Take your time. If you wait until the last minute to review the contract, you’ll have to rush through it and could miss something. Ask for the contract early, so you have enough time to review everything and participate in negotiations if you find anything you don’t agree to.
• Prepare to make compromises. A contract typically won’t include everything you want, so it’s important to determine what you need and make sure it is in the document. If there’s anything you want, but it isn’t a necessity, come to a compromise.
• During negotiation talks, remain respectful and civil. The organization will likely be willing to discuss anything about the contract that you don’t like but won’t want to make a deal if you’re rude.
• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Don’t focus on only one deal. Allow yourself to have options so you can say no to the contracts you don’t like.
• Hire an e-sport athlete lawyer from Attorney Tom. Knowing what to do is useful, but having a lawyer with you throughout each step will put you in the best position for negotiations.

Why Choose Us

At Attorney Tom, we understand this is an important time in your life. You’re about to live out your dream of getting paid to be an e-sport athlete and you can’t wait to get started. However, a vital part of signing with an organization is ensuring you stay protected. Our e-sport athlete lawyers will work with you during each stage of the process to ensure you get what you want out of the player agreement, and no one takes advantage of you.

If you’re a first-time e-sport athlete, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and forget to read the fine print. We’ll help you build your brand, secure fair compensation, and sign with the right organizations. You can depend on us to boost your image and reputation, so you have a career in the e-sport industry that’s lucrative and long-lasting.

To find out how Attorney Tom can provide you with legal representation as an e-sport athlete, call us at (713) 244-6363 today.