The World Of Sports Connected To The Esports Industry

GRIEZMANN LAUNCHES HIS ESPORTS OWN TEAM

Current FC Barcelona player Antoine Griezmann has created his own eSports team named “Grizi eSports”. In a world where online gaming is starting to grow bigger and bigger, be it for the amount of publicity several known figures provide or for his actual worth, the truth is many major athletes spend a fair share of their free hours improving their skills on different video games. With this said, we thought it was interesting to deepen the type of relationship pro athletes have and are starting to have with this industry. 

GRIZI ESPORTS

Known by his incredible football skills, but also for his famous celebrations, Griezmann was the first pro athlete to go full throttle within the eSports industry. He created a team from scratch alongside his brother and is now on the recruitment phase, a roster that will contain 20 players for several games, such as Fortnite, League of Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, CS GO and FIFA. While his brother, Theo Griezmann will be involved with the day-to-day needs, the current Barcelona player still plans to play an essential role in the decision-making of his eSports team. This could open a precedent for other major players to start their own business when it comes to eSports, as most of them have a share on different teams in the industry, and didn’t start it from ground zero like Griezmann.

KNOWN FIGURES WHO INVESTED IN ESPORTS

A business that could bring a total revenue of €2.17 billion in 2020 according to Newzoo, already has some major players inside the industry. The brutal expansion that’s been happening in these last few years didn’t go unnoticed for some people who are able to spend some of their fortunes on newfound booming business.

MICHAEL JORDAN

Considered the greatest basketball player of all time and now the main owner of the Charlotte Hornets, Jordan with an estimated €1.7 billion net worth, has invested on the competitive gaming company aXiomatic Gaming, who detains the famous Team Liquid. He considered at the time that eSports was a force to be reckoned with for years to come. 

DRAKE

One of the biggest artists in the world, Drake, has invested an undisclosed amount with Scooter Braun, a Hollywood manager, on an eSports organization called 100 Thieves, a team that participates mostly on Call of Duty and League of Legends competitions. It was known after quite some time they invested on the team, that they would share a co-owner position, leaving them with a strong position when it comes to calling the shots decision-wise. 

STEPHEN CURRY AND ANDRE IGUODALA

Winners of multiple NBA championships, it looks like the Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala stay winning off the court as well. Both the players were part of a large investment of apparently €37 million in July 2018 on an organization called TSM. The same organization is known for having strong teams on games like League of Legends and Fortnite. 

KEVIN DURANT AND ODELL BECKHAM JR.

Known for his investment in Silicon Valley, Kevin Durant had to try his luck on the eSports business. In February 2018, he joined a group of investors that raised €38 million to invest on Vision Esports, an eSports investment fund co-founded by a former NBA player in Rick Fox along with other notable figures. This organization contains several projects, like an eSports team named Echo Fox and a video game record-tracking site Twin Galaxies. Joining Kevin Durant was also NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. The wide receiver stated that he’s been a video gamer affectionate since his days as a child.

Can Antoine Griezmann’s recent investment unlock a pattern for future pro athletes? There are several stories about players being video game addicts while not at practice or on the road with their team, so if they possess the funds and the passion to go further, why not do it? We should see this industry grow even further in the next few years, and that could happen with the help of many known athletes in the sports world.