Million-dollar earnings of League of Legends players: modest prize pools but huge salaries

Esports League of Legends remains one jof the most popular games, gaining millions of viewers and sponsors. Moreover, it tends to generate high amounts of revenue as well. Even though Aps Tournament and CS2 do a better job in terms of prize money, the League of Legends tournaments still offer millions in profits through competition, contracts, and sponsorships.

Professional Player Earnings

Prize money for League of Legends tournaments is among the largest in esports and so players who compete are paid well. For example, the winning team at any championship can win several millions of dollars during the tournament and afterward, share it out amongst the rest of the competitors in the team. As an example, T1 superstar Faker alone earned in excess of $1 million during 2024 in prize money. However, that is simply a fraction of what they make from team contracts, endorsements and other sources of business.

Credit: T1

It is safe to estimate that income for 100 Thieves’ Doublelift from his team contract alone falls somewhere between $300,000 to $500,000. Not accounted for this estimation are sponsorship contracts, potential bonuses, or other sources of income that can be obtained from brand, ie. Red Bull or Logitech G, which could be greater than winnings of Tournaments. Advertising, sponsorships and club contracts all combined create wealth for professional gamers.

Earnings from streaming have also started pouring in from streaming as well. A number of gamers including Faker stream their games on Twitch and Youtube and earn hundreds of thousands every year. Each month, they gain profits from subscriptions, donations, and advertising contracts.

Player Salaries in League of Legends

Professional League of Legends players have the capacity to earn large amounts of money, however, this value relies on several components including the team's recognition, the skill of the player, the location, and even the amount of fans.

Top Teams and Their Salaries:

• T1: Players such as Faker are among the most paid in the entire world receiving close to $50,000 each month in addition to the earnings from tournaments.

• Cloud9: From remarkable $30,000 to $50,000 dollars each month. The stars like Perkz can earn more due to their reputation.

• Fnatic: Players rake in around $25,000 to $45,000 every single month. For example, Rekkles is reported to receive a salary at the higher end of the increase range.

• G2 Esports: Range from $20,000 to $40,000 each month. Players in this example, like Caps, are comfortably at the upper part of this latest range.

Salaries in Lower-Known Teams

• Tier-2 and Tier-3 Teams: Players from these clubs earn approximately $1,500 to 3,000 each month. Those that are more involved in online tournaments are estimated to make between $3,000 and $5,000 per month.

• Depending on the region, for example CIS and Latin America, salaries could be much lower. In CIS regions, top players are paid between $1,000 and $2,500 per month while the best players can command up to $5,000 a month.

The Richest League of Legends Players

Some of the top earning League of Legends players are Faker who garnered over $1.2 million in prize winnings alone. He earns way more than that from his salary, endorsement deals and even more as a shareholder of T1. Some estimates regarding his net worth put him around 50 million.

Legends Of League Coaches Earnings Per Salary

The truth is that there is also the opportunity to gain a lot of money from it. Given the team’s results, for example, a coach with these characteristics will earn from 60.000 to 200.000 US Dollars. One of the best paid coaches of LoL is T1s kkOma who has also earned astronomically due to the results of his team.

Additional income sources for coaches could include business masterclasses, consultancy or even media analysis. Most of the coaches start as players and a lot of them end up being very sought after professionals because of their skills and their brand.

The Most Expensive League of Legends Teams

Clubs earn millions of dollars from sponsorship deals, tournaments and also from players. One of the riches clubs T1 has made over $7 million dollars. Such clubs additionally make earnings from advertising and branding.

The income of League of Legends varies greatly, however we can assume it is fairly respectable for persons at the professional level – players and coaches. Highest earning players and coaches get it all, from prize money, to ad sponsorship, contracts, and multi million dollar streaming incomes. Success in this field is skill based but one needs to have strong career management skills with a brand strategy for the player and coach to last in this game. This is what enables both of them to have viable job prospects long after their career in esports.