The premiere League of Legends league in North America is getting a major face lift in 2018, including giving teams permanent spots, opening up revenue sharing, and forming a player’s association.
Riot Games’ North American League of Legends Championship Series (NA LCS) will begin to emulate traditional sports leagues like the NBA and MLB next year by expanding revenue sharing and increasing player pay, kicking of a player’s association so players have a say in how things run, and introducing team franchising — the first existing esports league to do so. This means team owners will have permanent partnerships with the NA LCS and will no longer have the fear of relegation looming over them if they’re having a bad season.
This changes will be implemented at the start of the 2018 season. In the meantime, Riot will be accepting applications from teams to be permanent fixtures in North American League of Legends. With these applications, Riot will be focusing on team branding (connecting with fans and merchandising), the owners’ business plans, team development and strategies, and the owners themselves.
