The League Championship Series Players Association (LCSPA) announced a historic step in creating a commercial group rights program on Friday. The LCSPA will be working with OneTeam Partners in this endeavor to create a sustainable and independent player organization.
The LCSPA has entered into a multiyear partnership with @OneTeamPartners who will assist the LCSPA in becoming a sustainable and independent player organization and will help set the LCSPA on the path to unionization. More: https://t.co/TgxvYmhLb4
— LCS Players Association (@NALCSPA) March 11, 2022
LCSPA to start a Group Rights program with OneTeam
In its original announcement, the LCSPA stated that now is the right time to pursue group rights like their traditional sports counterparts in the Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League and all other major North American sports leagues.
Group rights are a commonplace practice in traditional sports and have helped establish several player unions. They were first used in the 1960’s to establish the first sports union in the United States, the Major League Baseball Players Association.
The establishment of group rights among LCS players would mean any executive decision made by Riot Games that involves players must be collectively bargained for by both parties in order to guarantee proper compensation. The laws are built around the name, image and likeness rights of all players.
The goal of the partnership is to establish a passive revenue stream for players as well as provide a sustainable and independent operating budget for the players association to continue to grow the scope of its work on behalf of players.
The announcement describes that the partnership was a long time coming. Marty Strenczewilk of OneTeam Partners (formerly co-founder and CEO of Splyce) first spoke to PA president Darshan “Darshan” Upadhyaya in December of 2020 about group rights and what a possible program could look like.
According to the announcement, most of the revenue made in professional sports goes to the smallest percentage of players. Group rights programs allow every player to participate in that revenue, and every player gets paid exactly the same amount — regardless of popularity, position or any other factors. The establishment of a player’s union would allow for players’ likeness to be used on collectibles, trading cards and other merchandise.
If fans have more questions, the LCSPA and OneTeam will host an Ask me Anything (AMA) r/lcs on Monday, Mar. 14 at noon ET.
