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KeSPA reveals average salary for progamers

Forum Index > SC2 General
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Thouhastmail
Profile Joined March 2015
Korea (North)876 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-12-24 08:06:01
December 24 2015 05:54 GMT
#1
http://e-sports.or.kr

[image loading]

As stated above, Kespa revealed the average salary for progamers in order to correct the misleading report from Korea Creative Content Agency.

This excludes prizes, winning incentives and streaming incomes; considering this, the actual average income of SC2 progamers will be about $50K for a year.


SC2(Jinair, SKT, KT, Samsung, CJ) players:

25 players

Average incomes for 2016: $45.88K

Players who get more than $100K: 0
"Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people we personally dislike"
RoninKenshin
Profile Joined November 2010
Canada97 Posts
December 24 2015 05:58 GMT
#2
Wow, after all these years. Does anyone know if there's a minimum salary for the practice partners? I assume there's some massive wage disparity between stars and scrubs.
I'm with e-sports
bduddy
Profile Joined May 2012
United States1326 Posts
December 24 2015 05:58 GMT
#3
So only the top teams (no MVP or SBENU, let alone Prime or foreign teams), and not even all of them if there were only 25. Only counted A-teamers I guess. Great transparency, KeSPA...
>Liquid'Nazgul: Of course you are completely right
Draconicfire
Profile Joined May 2010
Canada2562 Posts
December 24 2015 05:59 GMT
#4
That's a pretty good number, but the sample size is way too low.

Also the discrepancy between StarCraft and League is quite interesting.
@Drayxs | Drayxs.221 | Drayxs#1802
Thouhastmail
Profile Joined March 2015
Korea (North)876 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-12-24 06:01:23
December 24 2015 06:00 GMT
#5
On December 24 2015 14:58 RoninKenshin wrote:
Wow, after all these years. Does anyone know if there's a minimum salary for the practice partners? I assume there's some massive wage disparity between stars and scrubs.


$300 per month, at most.

On December 24 2015 14:58 bduddy wrote:
So only the top teams (no MVP or SBENU, let alone Prime or foreign teams), and not even all of them if there were only 25. Only counted A-teamers I guess. Great transparency, KeSPA...


No. If it is 25, it includes everyone in those 5 teams.
"Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people we personally dislike"
JBright
Profile Joined September 2010
Vancouver14381 Posts
December 24 2015 06:00 GMT
#6
http://www.liquidlegends.net/forum/lol-general/500629-korea-esports-report

There's some other info here and a link to the full report pdf.
ModeratorThe good and the wise lead quiet lives. Neo's #1 Frenemy and nightmare.
bGr.MetHiX
Profile Joined February 2011
Bulgaria511 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-12-24 06:04:00
December 24 2015 06:01 GMT
#7
so they earn on average like 4 000 $ per month and no one gets more than 8 000$. seems reasonable , bearing in mind that their food/sleeping expenses are covered because they live in teamhouses.

ps : oops my bad, saw the following link and my numbers are off
Top50 GM EU Protoss from Bulgaria. Streaming with commentary : www.twitch.tv/hwbgmethix
bduddy
Profile Joined May 2012
United States1326 Posts
December 24 2015 06:05 GMT
#8
On December 24 2015 15:00 Thouhastmail wrote:
No. If it is 25, it includes everyone in those 5 teams.
Huh? This isn't LoL. Player numbers according to Liquipedia:

SKT: 8
Samsung: 11
JAGW: 6
CJ: 6
KT: 10

...which makes 41. Get rid of the lowest-paid 40% and suddenly your numbers get a lot better...
>Liquid'Nazgul: Of course you are completely right
BreAKerTV
Profile Blog Joined November 2011
Taiwan1658 Posts
December 24 2015 06:05 GMT
#9
Faker easily gets 200k USD a month, if not from playing for SKT, definitely for streaming.
Retired caster / streamer "BingeHD". Digital Nomad.
Thouhastmail
Profile Joined March 2015
Korea (North)876 Posts
December 24 2015 06:09 GMT
#10
On December 24 2015 15:05 bduddy wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 24 2015 15:00 Thouhastmail wrote:
No. If it is 25, it includes everyone in those 5 teams.
Huh? This isn't LoL. Player numbers according to Liquipedia:

SKT: 8
Samsung: 11
JAGW: 6
CJ: 6
KT: 10

...which makes 41. Get rid of the lowest-paid 40% and suddenly your numbers get a lot better...


It was sarcasm..
"Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people we personally dislike"
TR
Profile Joined February 2011
2320 Posts
December 24 2015 06:17 GMT
#11
On December 24 2015 15:05 BreAKerTV wrote:
Faker easily gets 200k USD a month, if not from playing for SKT, definitely for streaming.

Yeah I'm sure he makes a lot more than some average KeSPA players do, but where did you get that "$200k a month" from? Just curious.
J. Corsair
Profile Joined June 2014
United States470 Posts
December 24 2015 06:19 GMT
#12
I'm not sure how far that money goes in Korea, but that seems pretty damn nice for having all expenses paid and all the more because of how young a lot of these guys are.

The sample size really hurts though... that number drops in half at least if they included ALL player's salaries.
“...it is human nature, I suppose, to be futile and ridiculous.” - Scaramouche
Seeker *
Profile Blog Joined April 2005
Where dat snitch at?37124 Posts
December 24 2015 06:21 GMT
#13
On December 24 2015 14:54 Thouhastmail wrote:
Edit: someone please add 't' before 'he'?

You know you can edit your own messages right? Just look for the "Edit" button at the bottom of your posts.
ModeratorPeople ask me, "Seeker, what are you seeking?" My answer? "Sleep, damn it! Always sleep!"
TL+ Member
partydude89
Profile Blog Joined August 2012
1850 Posts
December 24 2015 06:21 GMT
#14
On December 24 2015 15:19 J. Corsair wrote:
I'm not sure how far that money goes in Korea, but that seems pretty damn nice for having all expenses paid and all the more because of how young a lot of these guys are.

The sample size really hurts though... that number drops in half at least if they included ALL player's salaries.



But they also get Housing, living, travel, and any prize money they win. So while the sample size may be off, the amount of value they're getting is as well.
#1 Official Hack Fan|#2 Bomber behind Wintex.|Curious|Life|Flash|TY|Cure|Maru|sOs|Jin Air Green Wings fighting!|SBENU Fighting!|
Taf the Ghost
Profile Joined December 2010
United States11751 Posts
December 24 2015 06:22 GMT
#15
Considering most of these guys live in a Team House, there's a "pay" vs "total compensation" issue that can get really messy. Because even if a player is going getting 20k USD a year, if their room & board is covered, that really shifts the calculations. Plus that's before prize money and "bonuses".

So this is something to both worry a bit about and, at the same time, to understand it's more complicated than the information everyone is currently presenting.
Thouhastmail
Profile Joined March 2015
Korea (North)876 Posts
December 24 2015 06:24 GMT
#16
On December 24 2015 15:21 Seeker wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 24 2015 14:54 Thouhastmail wrote:
Edit: someone please add 't' before 'he'?

You know you can edit your own messages right? Just look for the "Edit" button at the bottom of your posts.


I know, but I cannot edit thread title. It was "Kesap revealed 'he' average..."
"Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people we personally dislike"
Seeker *
Profile Blog Joined April 2005
Where dat snitch at?37124 Posts
December 24 2015 06:29 GMT
#17
On December 24 2015 15:24 Thouhastmail wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 24 2015 15:21 Seeker wrote:
On December 24 2015 14:54 Thouhastmail wrote:
Edit: someone please add 't' before 'he'?

You know you can edit your own messages right? Just look for the "Edit" button at the bottom of your posts.


I know, but I cannot edit thread title. It was "Kesap revealed 'he' average..."

Ahhhh, okay, gotcha.
ModeratorPeople ask me, "Seeker, what are you seeking?" My answer? "Sleep, damn it! Always sleep!"
TL+ Member
Liquid`Snute
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Norway839 Posts
December 24 2015 07:13 GMT
#18
from a non-Korean perspective ~$3000+/month seems to be a crazy strong baseline sc2 salary, especially if it's on top of free housing etc o_o good for the 25 listed in the sample size.
Team Liquid
negativedge
Profile Joined December 2011
4279 Posts
December 24 2015 07:14 GMT
#19
On December 24 2015 15:17 TR wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 24 2015 15:05 BreAKerTV wrote:
Faker easily gets 200k USD a month, if not from playing for SKT, definitely for streaming.

Yeah I'm sure he makes a lot more than some average KeSPA players do, but where did you get that "$200k a month" from? Just curious.


he got it from the same place most people get numbers from: their ass.
Wrath
Profile Blog Joined July 2014
3176 Posts
December 24 2015 07:48 GMT
#20
On December 24 2015 16:13 Liquid`Snute wrote:
from a non-Korean perspective ~$3000+/month seems to be a crazy strong baseline sc2 salary, especially if it's on top of free housing etc o_o good for the 25 listed in the sample size.


How much does TL pay you?
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