Faker Turns Down the Biggest Esports Contract to Date
League of Legends Korean star Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok has long been one of the game’s most sought after players for other regions. From Liquid to RNG, teams are constantly trying to persuade the game’s greatest player to join them.
Years ago, the rumored price to buyout Faker and the minimum value a team would have to offer for SKT (now T1) to consider even trading him is $3.5 million. That price deemed insane for esports at that time.
A few years on, that price looks paltry compared to what teams are now apparently willing to offer him. Contract offers for Faker have now entered the eight-digit mark.
$10 Million Offer on the Table
In an interview on Korean talk show Radio Star, translated by Talk Esports (no affiliation), the 23-year old star was asked if he’d gotten any offers from other regions beyond Korea in the offseason, and whether he’d considered them.
He responded and revealed he was offered $10 million by Tencent to transfer over to a team in the LPL, the Chinese pro league.
That’s an insane wage hike given his rumored $2.5 million current salary with T1. Even crazier, he stated that a North American org offered him a blank check to play for them. It shocked him so much that Faker reread the $10 million contract to make sure he understood them correctly.
Those are insane offers for an esports player. It puts him in line with what Zion Williams makes in the NBA or even players in the NFL. However, Faker denied the $10 million offer.
When pushed on why he, a player considered by many to be the greatest of all time, would turn down such life-changing offers from these unnamed teams, he remarked that he didn’t want to leave behind his loyal fans. His fans had been with him through the ups and downs. He also didn’t want to leave the org. The org stuck with him through thick and thin for his pro career.
It’s a heartwarming thing to hear from Faker, given how much money was on the line. He claimed he only spends $170 a month on himself. So, it’s clear money doesn’t mean everything to him.
His response to not wanting to abandon his fans will lead to questions of credibility. There are rumors of T1 moving to the LCS. Allegedly, the org is waiting until Faker turns 25 to make the move.
It’s going to be a couple of years until we get there. However, anything can change in that time.
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