shox is on the move, and his transfer isn’t going to be cheap.
The post-StarLadder Berlin Major roster shuffle is in full swing and one of the biggest stories floating around has been the massive buyout prices for Richard “shox” Papillon of G2 Esports and Marcelo “coldzera” David of MiBR.
According to reports, Shox is likely heading to Team Vitality after negotiating around a buyout clause that was originally estimated to be worth between $500,000 and $700,000. That story has shined a light back onto buyouts in CSGO and shows just how big the game’s esports scene is from a financial perspective.
How does the buyout work for Shox, G2, and Vitality?
Buyout clauses are a common phenomenon in both traditional sports and esports.
When one team seeks to obtain the services of a player contracted to another team, they have the ability to convince the other club to part with the player for a cash payout. Traditionally, these buyouts are worth more than the market value of the player’s contract in order to guarantee a return for the organization losing the player. In some cases, players can negotiate a lower buyout to ensure they are able to switch teams.
These clauses are especially prominent in football/soccer, with the biggest buyout clauses in history being worth 1 billion euros. Clubs are not typically compelled to sell a player’s contract with a buyout clause, but the influx of cash is designed to make it worth their while.
Many CSGO contracts also contain buyout clauses. Terms often go undisclosed and unreported as these clauses can be highly secretive, but some examples that have come to light are INTZ Esports receiving $150,000 when João “felps” Vasconcellos joined MiBR and Nikola “NiKo” Kovac’s transfer from Mousesports to FaZe Clan carrying a $500,000 price tag.
In the case of Shox, G2 Esports was reportedly asking Vitality for between $500,000 and $700,000, per French outlet 1pv. That hefty price tag had Vitality looking for talent elsewhere, with the team reportedly eyeing former Team EnVyUs player Fabien “kioShiMa” Fiey.
Per 1pv, Vitality and G2 worked out a deal worth between $350,000 and $450,000. This would see Shox join the team as a replacement for Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt for the upcoming season.
How much is coldzera’s buyout worth?
Though coldzera has stated he has talked with a number of different teams and many are expecting him to join FaZe Clan in the near future, that likely isn’t a done deal due to a potentially massive buyout clause.
coldzera touched on this in July when he discussed his future with MiBR.
“If I had decided to leave on a short notice, I could’ve missed the whole year because my buyout is too expensive,” coldzera said.
Dexerto reporter Jarek Lewis said that it is “extremely likely” that Coldzera sits on MiBR’s bench for a long time.
“Trust me, his buyout is double the amount anyone has ever paid for a player in Counter-Strike player,” Lewis said. “Actually, it might even be higher than that.”
The $500,000 transfer of NiKo from Mouz to FaZe stands as the largest known buyout for a single player in history, which would mean that coldzera’s buyout could be worth over $1 million.
While FaZe likely wants to add Coldzera to its roster and coldzera seems to like the idea of playing with FaZe, that kind of price tag could be enough to chase away any such interest.
Read more about other interesting contracts and buyouts in esports here.
