EPT
Jaedong, Midas, Shine, Hyun, and Go.go are currently listed as free agents and have two remaining options. The first option is forced retirement from all pro leagues through the forced status of semi-pro if they can neither sign with a new team nor negotiate a new contract with their original one. In other words, they wait until the next free agency period and hope to get a contract then, after being out of the game for a year.
The second and best option is that they are resigned by their original teams, Jaedong to Oz, Midas to SKT1, Shine to KT, Hyun to MBC, and Go.go to Hite. The problem with this option is that if they are taken back their salary (the players don’t have any leverage due to KeSPAs rules) will more than likely be significantly reduced.
Jaedong could be the only possible exception. His essential role on Hwaseung Oz is no secret – without him the team would have no one nearly skilled enough to win their tough ace matches and they would lose the considerable Jaedong fan base.
In fact, it is specifically because of his essential role on Oz that his parents forced him into free agency. His mother has said she was “unable to come to terms on pay”, feeling Jaedong was worth far more to his team than he was being paid.
![[image loading]](http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk5/neverggg/oslfinals/secondstring/catjd.jpg)
Jaedong’s parents wanting to reassess the salary of the #1 ranked KeSPA player is completely logical. Jaedong’s salary was earning him less than 124 million won (100,000 USD) whereas players like Bisu and Flash make an easy 200K. However, the seemingly simple process of negotiating a new contract has become extremely stressful with tight deadlines and KeSPA regulations more or less forcing Jaedong to either return to Hwaseung Oz under their terms or retire.
Jaedong has said that “until my last day as a progamer I want to be with Oz” and an unnamed team was even supposedly “strongly considering bringing in Jaedong, but gave up in the end because Jaedong consistently expressed his strong desire to remain in Hwaseung”. However, all decisions are in the hands of Jaedong’s parents as he is not old enough (19) to negotiate his own contract.
August 31st is the deadline for free agent players so we will know the future of Jaedong, Midas, Shine, Hyun and Go.go in eSports at that time, if not before. I have faith that Jaedong will negotiate a new, more reasonable contract with Hwaseung as they have a long history together and he is essential to the team, but the future of the other players could very likely be at the semi-pro status.
This is the current situation, and while troubling for us fans what is far more disconcerting are the rules KeSPA has enforced which make it incredibly more difficult for free agent players to sign a new contract.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/snowbird/Kespa_Committeejpg.jpg)
A brief summary of KeSPAs free agency regulations:
- For the first 8 days as a free agent the player has the opportunity to negotiate a new contract with his original team
- If no contract is negotiated, he has 5 days to sign a contract with a new team. However, any player signed to a new team with a salary over 50 million won (40K USD ) must pay the players original team with either 200% of the players salary or 100% of the salary plus one player from its roster
- Two days after the player must sign with the highest bidder; there are no other options
- If no contract is yet to be signed the player has an additional 4 days to renegotiate with their original team
These rules need to be reconstructed to make it easier for players to renegotiate a contract. It is also incredibly unreasonable that the stress and time involved with the free agency proceedings takes place while some of the players are still in tournaments, like Jaedong in the WCG.
When asked about how the free agency period has affected his practicing, Jaedong replied “On Thursday, all day I was just wrestling (with the negotiations), all day, and at night I felt empty, with a lot of emotions overlapping, it was just so hard on me I couldn’t even hold a mouse.” He also went on to say “I wanted to practice properly (for the WCG), but things outside the game kind of weighed me down.”
![[image loading]](http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk5/neverggg/oslfinals/secondstring/ng1.jpg)
The renegotiations between Jaedong and Hwaseung Oz have not gone smoothly by any means. His parents said, “for the sake of e-sports, I think it would be good if some day the details of our negotiations were revealed.” Any light on how the proceedings were carried out would give us a lot of insight into the normally unseen world of progamers and how they are treated. I hope that once the negotiations are over Jaedong will tell us his perspective on the whole matter.
This could very well be the end for the Legend Killer – possibly the greatest Star Craft player who ever lived. His parents say that Jaedong will probably retire to study in the United States if negotiations fail to meet their expectations. The Korean military is another option for Jaedong as he must eventually put in his two years. Having him playing for ACE and still in the realm of eSports would at least keep him in the game, but to come out of the military older and far behind the other progamers makes his future in eSports a pale comparison of what it could have been on Hwaseung’s roster. Hopefully neither of these things will come to pass.
Personally, I think that Jaedong will resign with Oz for a higher salary simply because he is the Lee Jaedong and the team needs him. But whether Jaedong’s future in eSports is secure or not, the situation he has been forced into by KeSPA is not a precedent that progamers or their fans should abide.
Here is what some fellow TL members think of KeSPAs free agency policies:
Alsar – the players should have a strike~
Adeeler – When I heard about Free Agent being implemented I was happy, then when I saw what Kespa was doing with under a fake banner of FA I saw how corrupt it is
Tom Phoenix – this FA controversy has proven one thing clearly. The players themselves must step up and form a union, so they can defend their rights. Considering KeSPA`s attitude, it is obvious they have no intention of doing so.
PH – Thanks for spelling out the details of Free Agency. This is horrible…
StorrZerg – Jaedong just needs to 1v1 kespa in a bo7 and show them what sc is all about.
TheYango – As much as Jaedong loves playing for Hwaseung, he has to be really naive not to see how badly he's being exploited and how much his rights as a player are being trampled on at his current salary.
KillForce – If jaedong isn't actually bringing in money enough for his to justify a bigger salary, then pro starcraft might not be sustainable. If you get treated like shit for doing a 24h job, then pro starcraft might not be an okay career choice.
cUrsOr – If this happens to Jaedong, whos to say it wont happen more often, to other players, and affect the sport it ways we really can't put our finger on. This sort of control will dimish the quality of the sport
And here are some quotes about Jaedong from other progamers:
Zero – I practiced with JD yesterday. I lost a lot and realized again how good he is. He is the ultimate boss of ZvZ.
Ga-ul Gim (Samsung Khan coach) – I've talked with him on several occasions and I like his mindset. His game style and mindset resembles mine. He is very hard-working as well.
Jangbi – He's a machine! It's amazing how good he is!!
Jae-gyoon Yi (Woongjin Stars coach) – Not only he has an amazing record, his mindset and attitude and everything else is flawless. For example, when a coach asks a gamer to practice over 100 games to win a game, many gamers complain. However. JD takes such a demand for granted - a natural way to improve himself. That's the difference of mindset.
Leta – I sometimes watch his games in total awe. I can think nothing but that he's amazing.
Nada – Even at the top, he practices more than any other gamer and still has time to take care of fellow gamers. His behavior and sense of responsibility truly live up to the name of a progamer.
Losing Jaedong would be a huge blow to fans and to Korean eSports, but we have to look to the future. If KeSPAs despot policies are allowed to undermine player rights, without a noise of complaint from Korean or foreign fans, the free agency regulations will set a precedent and become entrenched in the policies of eSports. There is no reason to believe KeSPA will back down or become less bold and unreasonable in the future without a little help from the fans.
eSports is still young. The current rules and treatment surrounding players is a grim beginning to a new era of progaming. As the fans, we made and sustain eSports as what it is today and what it will be in the future. If we abide by KeSPAs every whim they will surely secure their stranglehold on the rights of players, making it more difficult to reverse the damage they’ve done with their policies in the future. So make some noise – let KeSPA know that the fans are mad and disgusted by their decisions, and in doing so let the players know that we their fans are ever behind them, especially in their toughest hours.
Thanks to JWD, konadora, and Waxangel for making this article possible. Without them the foreign fans would be left in the dark.
