The 2021 League of Legends offseason has been the craziest in the history of the game, with Luka “Perkz” Perković going to Cloud9 as one of the biggest roster swap yet.Â
Not a lot of fans would have expected the former G2 Esports mid and bot laner to join a team in the LCS, but now it has happened. Not only is Perkz one of the best players to ever join the LCS as an import, he is likely also one of the most expensive. According to the Twitter account LEC Wooloo, Perkz is getting paid $2.7 million each year on his new three-year contract.
[Rumour] Perkz salary at Cloud 9 is rumoured to be 2.7 million a year.
— LEC Wooloo ???????? (@LEC_Wooloo) November 29, 2020
While LCS salaries are not publicly known, this big number could very well be true. Rumors say that the asking price to buy out Perkz from G2 was at $6 million, which was on top of his salary. How much G2 earned from selling the Croatian superstar is unknown, but a lot of money has clearly been involved.Â
Perkz isn’t the only player in the LCS who is getting paid a lot of money each year. The average salary in the LCS has increased a lot over the past years, and in the 2020 season it was estimated to be around $400,000. The average doesn’t say how much the best players in the league are getting paid, but Perkz’s rumored salary might indicate what level the finances in the LCS have reached.Â
While Perkz is certainly earning enough, he might not be the best-paid player in the LCS. When the signing of new Team SoloMid support player Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh got revealed in an article by The Washington Post, it was disclosed that his contract was for $6 million over two years.Â
This contract likely makes SwordArt the most expensive player in the LCS, following his recent run to the 2020 World Championship final with Suning.Â
If my educated guess is correct, SwordArt will be the highest paid player in the #LCS, even more than Perkz — although I don’t think Perkz is that far behind.
Kind of crazy we went from Impact being the highest paid at ~$1.2 mil/yr to two players making give or take $3 mil/yr.
— Jacob Wolf (@JacobWolf) November 26, 2020
As the 2021 season is approaching quickly, there probably won’t be any more signings of this caliber in the LCS but the salaries will likely increase even more next year.Â
In the 2021 League of Legends offseason, Perkz decided to leave G2 and Europe to join Cloud9 in North America. This is the first time Perkz will be playing in the LCS, and the expectations around him are enormous. He will be playing alongside his former teammate Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen, who has played for Cloud9 since November 2019.Â
For the 2021 season, Perkz will once again be a mid laner. Perkz was originally a mid laner until Rasmus “Caps” Winther joined G2 from Fnatic. That move saw Perkz swap to the bot lane so G2 could fit in two of the biggest European stars on the same team. Perkz had a brief return to the mid lane in the 2020 LEC Spring Split, but ended the 2020 season back in the bot lane. At Cloud9, Perkz will be a mid laner exclusively.Â
The leader of Cloud9 is Jack Etienne, who is the co-founder and CEO of the organization. Looking at the League of Legends team, it is unknown who will act as the team’s in-game leader or shot caller. Perkz could be a good candidate to lead the squad in-game as he has a lot of experience and has played at the absolute highest levells of the game, having appeared in the finals of the League of Legends World Championship.Â
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
