League of Legends: Reborn in Season 3, Tuning the Entire League

Chapter 269 Transfer Storm 2 - The Multi-Million Dollar Man!

LOL team's betting agreement!
Simply put, it is an agreement reached between a League of Legends club and its players, coaches, or management regarding team performance or individual achievements. The aim is to incentivize relevant personnel to strive for excellent results while also balancing and protecting the club's investment and returns.

Jiang Ming hadn't expected G2 to offer such a betting agreement.

In a standard contract, G2 offered Pang Ran a basic salary of 300,000 euros per year, with other bonuses, commercial endorsements, and revenue sharing from live streaming to be calculated separately.

In the performance-based contract, G2 clearly stated three different performance targets, with a guaranteed annual salary of 150,000 euros. Leading the team to the LCS league in the 2014 Spring Split would allow them to match the basic contract.

This is level one!
In the second performance target, if Little Stone leads the team to the top three in the LCS during the Spring and Summer Splits, his basic annual salary will increase to 500,000 euros, and his bonus for the season will double.

If G2 makes a triple jump and enters the World Championship, their annual salary will increase to one million euros.

All the above annual salary and benefits will be supplemented on the day the corresponding conditions are met.

"Ming-ge, do you think I should sign it?" Xiao Shitou looked intently at Jiang Ming, flipping the betting agreement back and forth in his right palm.

What he wanted to ask was naturally the pros and cons of signing this agreement.

If they refuse to sign the contract and choose a standard contract with an annual salary of 300,000 euros, which is equivalent to more than 2 million yuan, this figure is enough to make most of their peers look out of reach.

But the allure of performance-based agreements is equally deadly:

He only needs to lead G2 to the LCS in the Spring Split to earn a salary equal to his regular contract.

And once this "pledge" is signed, the subsequent benefits will increase exponentially:

If G2 finishes in the top three of the LCS at the end of the season, their salary will double; if they make it to the World Championship, their annual salary will soar to one million euros, which is nearly ten million RMB!

Keep in mind, this was a multi-million dollar annual salary in 2014, and its implications are self-evident!
In the early days of the League of Legends esports scene, if G2 could pull off a miraculous comeback with a "three-level jump," Little Stone would undoubtedly become the first professional player in the industry to be worth tens of millions, completely rewriting the industry's salary ceiling.

Of course, you can't say that G2 is "foolish and rich"—on the contrary, this club is extremely shrewd.

With Jiang Ming and the NXG team stirring things up, the huge Chinese market behind the LPL region has exploded, and astute capital has already rushed in.

For G2, which has received substantial capital investment, money has never been an issue. But what is the most lacking thing for a newly established esports club?
It's about attention, popularity, and tangible achievements.

Imagine, NXG team won the World Championship with a perfect record, attracting the attention of almost the entire LOL esports community.

If G2 can sign the jungler who is considered the second core player of this championship team (whose tactical importance is second only to the mid and support), the amount of attention they will receive is unimaginable.

If managed properly, this club will directly join the ranks of top-tier teams in the LCS region.

Furthermore, G2's ambitions don't stop there;
If you spend a lot of money to sign star players, but they can only struggle in the secondary league for an entire season, this is obviously not in line with the investment logic of capital.

This is precisely why the first performance-based agreement existed: their club needed a "results guarantee," while the players needed to prove their worth through their abilities.

More importantly, once G2 achieves a "three-level leap" from the secondary league to the top of the LCS, and then makes it to the World Championship, the commercial value it creates will far exceed what a million euro annual salary can measure.

Traffic, sponsorships, brand premium... these long-term benefits are the real prizes that capital is eyeing.

"Sign! Why won't you sign?"

"Haha, of course we have to accept the money that's being given to us for free."

Jiang Ming laughed loudly and slapped Xiao Shitou's shoulder hard, the force of his palm almost pressing the other into the sofa, and said, "How competitive can the LCS league be? Leading G2 from the secondary league to the LCS is a game you could win with your feet. This betting agreement only has two outcomes for you - at the very least, break even, or make a killing."

Jiang Ming tapped the agreement text on the table with his fingertips, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. Back when NXG was first established, they achieved a perfect record of dominating the Spring Split.

The operational strategies of those European and American teams are several steps behind those of the current LPL. For Xiaoshi to go to the LCS to play in the secondary league can only be described as a complete annihilation!

Thinking of this, Jiang Ming's tone suddenly changed: "If it were those hotheads who rely solely on their skills, I might have to worry about them capsizing unexpectedly. But Xiao Shitou, you're different. Among the five players in NXG, you are a jungler who is both talented and can perfectly execute tactics."

"Sign with confidence. In a sense, a performance-based agreement is also a form of self-discipline and motivation."

Jiang Ming glanced at Xiao Shitou, then suddenly changed the subject, "But I'm saying—you already have the answer in your heart, don't you?"

"Hehe, I just wanted to hear your opinion." Little Stone scratched his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, so if I asked you to sign that normal contract with G2 now, would you sign it too?" Jiang Ming suddenly narrowed his eyes and teased.

"I definitely won't sign!" Little Stone blurted out almost reflexively, but immediately realized he'd fallen for a trap. Looking at Jiang Ming's mischievous eyes, he couldn't help but complain, "Damn it, you've dug a trap for me!" Jiang Ming laughed heartily, punching him on the shoulder: "Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and sign it—don't let me misjudge you!"

"Moreover, since we've signed a performance-based agreement, we should try to get the highest level of rewards as well. I'll ask G2 later if they're interested in bringing in another coach or something."

He knew Little Stone's value all too well: with this kid's tactical instincts and rhythm control, as long as his teammates weren't the bizarre combination like TSM where everyone had a ward, leading G2 to the top three in the LCS that season would be no problem at all.

But that's all there is to it. An individual's ability is ultimately limited. To advance further and reach the World Finals, a standardized training system must be in place—a shortcoming that cannot be compensated for by the individual abilities of the players.

Assigning a coach from NXG to G2 would not only improve the opposing team's competitive level but also ensure that Xiaoshi has absolute say within the team.

What? You're saying what if G2 doesn't want it?

Brother, do you want to hear what nonsense you're spouting?

The entire League of Legends community knows that NXG has the best training team, and they'd love to buy a member who understands training.

Little Stone's throat bobbed, and he suddenly didn't know what to say. After a long pause, he finally managed to utter a trembling sentence: "Th...thank you!"

Jiang Ming waved his hand, sat back down in his chair, and looked out at the bright moon: "No need for all this formality with me. Once you get your ticket to the World Championship and get into Zurich, just bring me a bottle of champagne—the most expensive kind."

Well, the first jungler in the LOL community to reach a net worth of tens of millions is his own apprentice. It's pretty wonderful to think about.

……

When G2 learned that NXG was willing to "dowry" a coach from their youth academy with their jungler, they were overjoyed. This was a real surprise.

They were still thinking about what conditions they should offer to get one or two training staff members from NXG. After all, everyone knew that NXG's five players were not particularly talented. Their real strength lay in their league-leading tactics and game understanding.

Having a coach with a deep understanding of NXG's training details on the field would be the real guarantee of success.

In conclusion, the signing of the agreement is a win-win situation for both parties.

Little Stone received a record-breaking contract with a performance-based bonus, G2 gained popularity and future hope, NXG received a huge transfer fee, and incidentally solved the "promotion and salary increase" problem for a youth coach.

Yes, you heard me right.

At NXG, the best way to get a promotion and a raise is to be "sold off" by JM.

With the jungler transfer complete, only the bot lane duo remains.

Since it was a loan agreement, the process for assisting Pang Pangna was not complicated. First, regarding the loan period, Jiang Ming did not consider a longer term, just 14 years per year.

Meanwhile, Royal Club offered 1.8 million for the loan fee. Compared to the other departing players, Pang Pang, who also served as the team's commander, had the smallest increase in annual salary.

However, considering that the support player is the cheapest and that the domestic region does not have the premium for foreign players, a loan contract is reasonable.

This is also a drawback of Pang Ran's desire to stay with the team; even if NXG loaned him out, they couldn't secure more benefits for him.

However, the club did not take a cut of this 1.8 million; after taxes, it all went into the club's pocket.

During the negotiations with Tianci regarding the contract details, he offered himself and the soon-to-be-transferred Tabe as tactical advisors for Royal Club, thus securing Pang Ran an absolute core position in exchange.

This means guaranteeing the highest salary and the greatest say within the team!

In this way, Jiang Ming would no longer worry that Pang Pang would be unable to control that hot-tempered mad dog in the game.

The reason I say it's in the game is because, outside of the game, in real life, Azao is actually a pretty good person. As a friend, he's definitely the type who would go to great lengths for you. Otherwise, Tabe wouldn't have been scolded by him for so long in Royal Never Give Up, and he would never have said anything bad about him in his subsequent coaching career.

Of course, in a sense, UZI, who currently lacks both achievements and popularity, really doesn't dare to compete with the giant.

Even in the game, Pang Pang, who is already a perfect support template and half a coach, is the one who has the right to criticize.

"In the end... only Xu the Fool is left."

Jiang Ming rubbed his temples, feeling quite troubled. It was really difficult to be a conscientious entrepreneur. He had to work hard for the contestants, acting as both a father and a mother to them.

Xu Jing, who is especially good at creating drama, even chose a team that gave him the most headaches when he transferred.

(End of this chapter)