The introduction of a salary cap for the upcoming VCT CN League will ensure sustainable growth and prevent teams from overspending.
CHINA – The VCT CN League is set to implement a salary cap, as revealed by Eric Feng, Director of TJ Sports and head of VALORANT Esports in an exclusive interview with Ma Xiao (马啸) of People’s E-Sports.
Eric announced the introduction of a salary cap in the VCT CN League in addition to the existing minimum salary requirement. This measure will help regulate each team’s salary expenditures to a reasonable level and keep wage costs in the league spiraling out of control. TJ Sports will closely monitor all player transfers in the upcoming inaugural season of VCT CN, aiming for a balance of interests between organizations and players.
“We want to try to go as far as we can with our efforts so that some of our very good players can find great teams to play for and then also work together to raise the level of competition in our league as a whole.”
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The specifics of the plan and the upper limit of the VCT CN League’s salary cap are yet to be disclosed. This marks the first instance of a salary cap being introduced in any of the four VCT International Leagues.
The minimum annual salary across different regions varies slightly, reflecting the local currency of the hub cities. In the Americas, the minimum salary is 50,000 U.S. dollars, in EMEA it’s set at 50,000 euros, and in the Pacific region, it stands at 67 million KRW.
The VCT CN League is following the path of the LPL, which introduced a salary cap system in 2020. Announced at the Global Esports Summit and Tencent Esports Annual Conference, the LPL implemented a soft salary cap with a base limit of 10 million Chinese yuan, approximately $1.5 million per team. There are indications that this figure might have been recently increased.
VCT CN follows in the footsteps of the LPL in which a salary cap system was introduced in 2020 at the Global Esports Summit and Tencent Esports Annual Conference, that the LPL would impose a soft salary cap with a baseline of 10 million Chinese yuan, which is approximately $1.5 million per team. There are rumors that this amount has been revised upwards again.
Both the LCK and LEC announced the implementation of a salary cap system in July and September of this year, respectively. Known as Sporting Financial Regulations (SFR), these rules aim to support the long-term financial stability and competitive balance of Korea’s and EMEA’s tier-one League of Legends competition.
More to come…
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Cover photo courtesy of VALORANT Esports CN
As with any translation, there could be slight variations or discrepancies from the original.
