Speed Gaming reveals their player's contracts in an effort to improve transparency within eSports

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

Marco A. Fernandez the CEO of Speed Gaming made a post on their official Facebook page today going into detailed regarding the current contracts that have been set in place with their Dota 2 team and the Rattlesnake organisation, this was off the back of a recent post regarding the transparency in eSports specifically around players contracts and salaries by the Alliance player Jonathan 'Loda' Berg on the blog which he has been writing for the Swedish network TV6.

The personal post from Marco A. Fernandez details his reasoning behind this decision and what his hopes are for the future.

"I met Loda in person back in 2009 and I always knew he had a great future in his career as Dota player. I even invited him a few times to visit me in China. He couldn’t make it due his busy schedule but what you are about to see and read below is a small step to what Loda said in his blog. It is meant to show my respect towards his thinking. I decided to be one of the few organizations in make our contracts public so players can understand where they are in the e-Sports and maybe someday we can see e-Sports Legitimized."

Fernandez has encouraged other organisations to do the same in order to step forward and be more opened minded around the subject.

"Some of you might think the same way and some might think different. I do respect everyone’s own opinion but I encourage other organizations to also take the same step forward and be more open minded so we can have a brighter future for the gaming field and e-Sports itself."

Speed Gaming.int's Dota 2 Lineup

• Jacky 'EternaLEnVy' Mao
• WehSing 'SingSing' Yuen
• Pittner 'bOne7' Armand
• Kurtis 'Aui_2000' Ling
• Johan 'pieliedie' Åström

The Contract

Taking a closer look at one of the contracts we can see that the team is currently on a temporary three month contract that started on the 18th September 2013 and is due to end on the 18th of December 2013 (or until the team arrives in China).

Term

• This Contract runs for a period of three (3) months beginning on 09/18/2013 and terminating on 12/18/2013 or until the team arrives in China.

Rattlesnake's Obligations

Detailed in Rattlesnake's Obligations we can see that the organisation is willing to help the team cover registration, travel and lodging expenses for the players at events which also includes team houses (when financially able to provide for such). This section of the contract also details the guarantee that the team will have equipment and a gaming house provided to them when they arrive in China that includes good living conditions and monthly salaries. Rattlesnake also go out of their way to agree that they will try and help support the players in any manner possible upon request, if such request is deemed necessary by the Speed Gaming management and officers.

• 2.1 RSnake agrees to provide support, agreed upon between Player, Player’s Manager(s) and Officers of RSnake (“Officers”), for registration, travel, and lodging expenses for Player to events, including, but not limited to, tournaments and team houses, when financially able to provide for such.
• 2.2 RSnake agrees to provide equipment, and gaming house when the team arrives in China, including, good living conditions, and monthly salaries.
• 2.3 RSnake agrees to support Player in any manner possible upon request, if such request is deemed necessary by Manager(s) of Player’s team and Officers.

Player's Obligations

On the player's side we can see that we have a standard binding between the team and organisation to ensure that no other teams/organisations are involved. The players must agree to play matches to the best of their ability and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Players must also wear official Rattlesnake clothing at all times during events and competitions. We can also see a standard requirement of making themselves available to sponsors for promotional work with Rattlesnake gaining exclusive rights for the duration of the contract on their personal pictures, team pictures etc for advertising usage.

The players must also understand that they are representing the Rattlesnake organisation and shall not act with manners including, but not limited to, "cheating, violence, abuse, racism and unsportsmanlike conduct".

• 3.1 Player agrees to play for RSnake as an independent contractor. Through their signature, Player confirms that they have no other legal binding to any other team or organization. Player shall not enter into another contractual relationship with any other team or organization in the field during the term of this Contract until arriving in China.
• 3.3 Player agrees to play matches to the best of their ability, when selected, to participate in team and individual practice, and to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
• 3.4 Player must wear official RSnake clothing at all times during events and competitions.
• 3.5 Player agrees to make themselves available to Sponsors for promotional work as requested, unless previous notice is given of accepted unavailability by Player’s Manager(s).
• 3.6 Player agrees to allow RSnake to utilize their related personal rights exclusively for the duration of the Contract, including, but not limited to, personal pictures, team pictures, for advertising usage.
• 3.7 Player understands that they represent RSnake, and shall not act with bad manners including, but not limited to, cheating, violence, abuse, racism, and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Revenue

Detailed in the revenue section we can see that the players will receive 100% of the winnings from tournaments that have a total prize pool less than 50,000 RMB (~$8200 USD) anything above this will result in Rattlesnake taking a 20% cut. All of the players are currently on a basic salary of $1000 which will increase to $2000 if they place in the top three in tournaments such as (DSL, G1, WCG, Alienware, ACE, ESCL and Nexon). The players will also get 50% of revenue derived from streams.

When it comes to the International 2014 depending on how the team performs will determine how much of a cut Rattlesnake will take, 1st or 2nd place is 10%, 3rd or 4th place is 15% and 5th to 8th place is 20%.

Based on these figures and the International 2013 prize pool of $2,874,380 the payout would have been the following:

Position	Speed Gaming Payout	Rattlesnake Payout
1st	$1,293,471	$143,719 (10%)
2nd	$569,128	$63,236 (10%)
3rd	$244,323	$43,115 (15%)
4th	$171,026	$30,181 (15%)
5th	$91,980	$22,995 (20%)
6th	$91,980	$22,995 (20%)
7th	$34,493	$8623 (20%)
8th	$34,493	$8623 (20%)

• 4.1 Player shall receive one hundred percent (100%) of revenue derived from small tournaments, and a basic salary of one thousand dollars which will increase to two thousand dollars as soon as the team place top three in big tournaments such as: DSL - G1- wcg - Alienware - ACE - escl –Nexon. They will also get fifty percent (50%) of revenue derived from the Streams.
• 4.2 RSnake shall receive one hundred percent (100%) of revenue derived from promotion and advertising, unless previously agreed upon in writing.
• 4.4 RSnake shall receive twenty percent (20%) derived from prize money winnings except small tournaments that total prize pool is less than 50,000 RMB (~$8,200 USD) and at the International 4 where the percentage (%) will depend on the placement of the team as follow:
• If the team places at 1st or 2nd place RSnake shall receive ten percent (10%)
• If the team places at 3rd or 4th place RSnake receive fifteen percent (15%)
• If the team places at 5th to 8th place RSnake receive twenty percent (20%)

Fines/Suspensions

There is also a section that refers to fines and suspensions however no real specific details are given.

• Player shall receive fines and/or suspensions for minor violations agreed upon between Manager(s) and Officers.

Termination

The contract will renew for a subsequent six to eight months unless player or organisation gives a one week notice (before arriving in China). Once in China the team will immediately sign a new contract with the same points explained above.

• Contract renews for subsequent six to 8 (6/8) months unless either Player or Organization gives at least one (1) week notice, agreement between Player, Player’s Manager(s), and Officers before arriving in China, or violation of any Sections. A new contract will be signed as soon as the team arrives in China with the same points explained above.

Severability

Standard severability clauses.

• Player and RSnake agree that each provision of this Contract is severable and if any provision is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction or administrative agency to be illegal or invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected and the illegal or invalid provisions shall be deemed not to be a part of this Contract.

Law

Standard legal requirements.

• This Contract is entered into, made under, and shall be governed by the laws of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in which RSnake has its principle place of business, if Player is outside the People's Republic of China (PRC) , the laws of the People's Republic of China (PRC) shall govern.