After a player strike lasting almost two weeks the LCS Players Association, the representative body for professional League of Legends players in North America, has announced that it has agreed on terms that will allow the season to resume on June 14.
The LCS summer season was delayed for two weeks from its original start date of June 1 in response to the player walkout, with Riot Games threatening to cancel the season–and the region’s chance at Worlds–if an agreement could not be made. The LCSPA announced today that it has made that agreement, though it continues to negotiate on some key issues that haven’t been resolved.
The terms it has agreed to are as follows:
- $300,000 for the remainder of the 2023 season to be spli amongst the 10 NACL teams in order to boost player opportunity and pay
- 50% of all future NACL sponsorship revenue will now be shared by NACL Teams
- The NACL will have a Team Participation Agreement (TPA) in 2024. This means the NACL teams will have to abide by minimum standards in order to receive payments or revenue share from Riot
- A minimum of 30 days’ severance pay for termination without cause for any player earning up to 1.5 times the league minimum salary and 15 days notice for any player competing on a visa
- Players and eams will share equal representation on a committee to determine any future changes to the practice schedule in a collaborative manner
- Teams will take action to ensure all foreign players have mandated healthcare available to them by the first day they are in the US
- Riot and the LCSPA will sign a Memorandum of Understanding that established meetings and notice parameters to ensure all parties are aligned before any future decisions are locked and communications made
The terms notably fall short of the initial demands made by the LCSPA, but still represent notable improvements to conditions for pro players in North America–especially the items mandating severance pay and healthcare for players.
“The concessions below do not return the NACL fully, nor do they provide restoration for the players who lost jobs suddenly and incurred financial hardship, lost visas, or broken leases,” the LCSPA statement acknowledges. “The LCSPA is committed to continuing out pursuit of any and all potential paths towards making these players more whole.”
As mentioned earlier in its statement, the strike itself is a monumental event, and the LCSPA reveals that over 90% of players voted to walkout. Players in the LCS, the highest level of competitive League of Legends in North America, put their own careers on the line to support up-and-coming players in the developmental NACL league in a historic show of solidarity.
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