Salary cap? | over.gg

#1

Twisty

Hi guys,

Since it's fairly obvious that Blizzard is attempting to make the OWL more similar to conventional sports than other ventures in esports, do we think that a salary cap is likely in the future?

This comment got me thinking about the hoarding of players/talent, and how a salary cap may counteract anything like that (in addition to making the League a more even playing field overall).

Additionally, it would probably help smaller orgs break into OWL upon the League's expansion. Just like conventional sports franchises, there will always be differences in financial backing between esports teams.

Edit: apologies for the confusion, I mean a salary cap in the sense of a cap for the entire roster, not individual salaries

Let me know your thoughts!

#2

penda

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Probably at some point we’ll see this. Not for a couple years at least.

#3

verb

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I definitely think we'll see this in the future, probably something like 300k maybe? Just a guess I'm not an economist by any means

#7

darkcvc

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300k? So enough to sign 6 players to the minimum salary??? I am sure the # will be MUCH higher than that.

12 player max X $50,000 = $600,000. I am sure the number will be well over a million to accomodate paying players MORE than league minimum.

#8

Xeon

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I think he means 300k per player ^^

#9

darkcvc

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Oh, yea thats not usually how a cap works. It is a total amount for the entire roster. At least in american sports.

#11

ideekae

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he specified it was a SALARY cap, big difference

edit: meant to reply to #9

#14

Twisty

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I mean a salary cap in the sense of how #9 means it i.e. a cap for the entire roster. Sorry for the confusion!

#4

Pixelfish

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150k lul

#5

Apettysum

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KyKy mentioned there being a salary cap on the high noon podcast.

#15

Twisty

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Would you mind linking me if it's easy for you? Don't worry if not!

#6

Skendice

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Would this salary cap be introduced by blizzard? Makes more sense if an OWL org sets its own cap. If Blizzard sets a cap on salaries, that would create a sub-optimal situation from an economical standpoint. Would need some solid reasoning to justify imho.

#10

Generation1

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it would be the ruling body of OWL which is essentially Blizzard. The NFL sets the salary cap for example. It is to prevent the richest teams from having all of the best players. IE the Yankees as baseball has no traditional salary cap. If the teams picked the number it would defeat the purpose.

In the case of OWL, Robert Kraft could afford to buy any player he wants, and a team like IMT would never be able to match his money.

#16

Skendice

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Ah, didn't know NFL has one. It is not just about affording though, it is about an accurate valuation of someone's skill through a salary.
I think that every player should be paid a fair salary based on abilities, if this is above the cap and you don't have the money, too bad. If a Robert Kraft would vastly overpay a player, just to outbid competition, that would be his own stupidity.

Regardless, I understand that they want to level the playing field for now. I am generally just not a huge fan of regulated markets, but it might be worth it while the OWL is still in its infancy.

#17

Generation1

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Well the NFLs salary cap is 168 million. That's enough that every player could make over 3 mil a year which is plenty for them all to be paid fairly. But it means you can't have Tom Brady, Calvin Johnson, Suh, Von Miller, and Antonio Brown on your team because they would all want more than you'd have the room to pay. I'm assuming OWL will have a similarly high cap but it won't be so high, you could have 12 150k sinatraas on your team.

Keeps the league competitive. It's good for everyone. Players would get paid more because of it. "High value" players like Seagull will make more because they won't have to make room for 11 other high value players on the same team.

Although, in Tim Duncan's final 2 seasons he took a significant pay cut so the Spurs could sign a couple super valuable players so they would be really good. A true team player.

#18

Skendice

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Ah I see, thanks for clarifying the system :) As a Dutchie, I know absolutely nothing of the NFL. I thought the salary was capped per person, rather than a total sum.

I agree that a ''total salary sum cap'' could be very beneficial in that case :)

#19

darkcvc

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Also the NFL and NBA's caps are pointless when you can pay someone a 50 million signing bonus and spread it out over 10 years so it doesnt impact the cap like it should. It's all a big numbers game instead of being what it was intended to be.

#12

One_Punch_Man

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legally, wouldnt the players need representation as well?

Can't have a salary cap without some sort of players union to negotiate. I guess it all depends on how OWL is set up legally. I remember reading an article on kotaku or somewhere that had a esport lawyer talk about player representation if a salary cap would come about and how that would take years to get.

#13

Twisty

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I have heard whispers of a player's union, in the sense that it's been talked about as being necessary.

#20

pp8w

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A players association is needed for there to be a draft in the US because of anti-trust laws