Pro League of Legends players make around 6 figures, ESPN survey finds

In an anonymous ESPN survey of 33 players from the North American and European League Championship Series, an average player salary was finally revealed.

For North America, the average base salary among the players interviewed was $105,385. For Europe, the average was €76,137 ($80,816.)

It should be noted that this is only among players interviewed and some of the 33 may not have responded to the question, as noted at the bottom of the piece. It is also unclear which players were interviewed, though ESPN notes that they are “top pros from the North American and European leagues,” so it is possible this number is more reflective of the higher earners in the league.

This is also just a base salary, without streaming revenue, prize money and sponsorship money. League of Legends is one of the few esports that puts players on salaries, rather than have them completely rely on prize and sponsor money.

Former pros such as Michael “imaqtpie” Santana and Marcus “Dyrus” Hill have moved onto streaming as another financial option.

In the past, Team Ember, a former Challenger Series team, released its player salaries, with Greyson "Goldenglue" Gilmer making the most at $92,000 per year, including both his salary and a sign-on and performance bonus. The Challenger Series is the second tier of competition in North America, under LCS.

The ESPN article goes on to talk about more fun topics, like which pro the players would or wouldn’t want on their team and more. You can read the entire article here.