Riot will fund new NA LCS Players’ Association

One of the largest and most surprising announcements to accompany Riot’s statement on NA LCS franchising was the creation of a new Players’ Association. The Players’ Association, a standard in all major American sports leagues, will be for NA LCS players and will be funded, at least in the beginning, by Riot itself.

As its primary goal, the Association will give players a voice in any league decisions, as well as provide the players with the supportive services of outside consultants such as agents, lawyers and financial advisers.

While the initial funding for the Association will be provided by Riot, the goal will be to move towards self-funding by the players. This would leave open the possibility of the Players’ Association becoming a fully independent Players’ Union in the future, a move that Riot says will be encouraged.

According to Riot, the process of starting the Players’ Association will begin in June, when the NA LCS players will be given a list of potential representatives to elect to represent the players’ interests in the league. The players will then elect candidates from this list, or choose to reject all proposed candidates.

Following the election, the Players’ Association representatives will have July, August and September to meet with the players in order to come to similar terms and understand any concerns that wish to be raised. From then on, the overall interests of the NA LCS players in the league will be spoken for by these representatives, who will attend negotiations and meetings on behalf of the Players’ Association and its interests.