Most esports organizations keep their player salaries confidential, which compared to most other professional sports, is an uncommon practice. The new CS:GO General Manager for Cloud9, Henry “HenryG” Greer, was never a fan of that tactic. He decided that Cloud9 would publicly announce all of the CS:GO player salaries. As such, they’re the first CS:GO team to make their player salaries public. In a recent interview with Flashpoint, HenryG explains why.
“I feel that [player salaries] should be a celebration, that should be something you should be kind of telling everyone about,” he said. He went on to say that since the organizations are investing so much money into players, why wouldn’t they celebrate and be proud?
HenryG also said that if the groups announced how much they were paying the players, it would show how much the team believes in the player. His statements follow along with the rhetoric he’s been proclaiming since he signed on as manager.
let me be clear:
The last party to benefit from sporting salaries being kept private, is the player.
It only shrouds them from knowing their true market value and therefore allows the team(s) to pay their players less.
all my announcements also at player discretion.
— HenryG (@HenryGcsgo) September 10, 2020
Why don’t other teams make player salaries public?
HenryG believes that the answer could be for a couple of reasons. It’s possible that the team paid too much for some bad deals, and therefore, they’re a bit embarrassed by it.
“They paid way too much and it’s been bad business while they’re paying their players way too little and they don’t want anyone to know that they actually got a couple of raw deals on the table for their players,” he said.
He also conceded that other organizations may not have as large of a budget as Cloud9 or others, so they aren’t willing to fully disclose player salaries. While teams continue to do what they feel is best for them, HenryG believes that Cloud9 made the right decision. By being fully transparent, every player knows their value. They also know Cloud9 is paying them based upon performance and skill.
I'm sure this will spark another Esports 'hot topic' with the disparity in the salaries.
I sign each player and negotiate their deals on an individual basis.
Ricky has received a pay increase from his previous contract and that will be reviewed each year of his stay.
— HenryG (@HenryGcsgo) October 7, 2020
The whole interview with HenryG is a fascinating listen, so check it out when you get a chance.
Published: Nov 9, 2020 01:50 pm