Updated July 2026

How Do Esports Teams Make Money?

Esports teams make money mostly the way media companies do, not the way ticket-selling sports clubs do. The single biggest source is sponsorship and brand partnerships, followed by content and streaming revenue, league revenue sharing, merchandise, and a small, unpredictable slice from tournament prize money. Understanding how esports teams make money means seeing them as content businesses that happen to field competitive rosters.

Names like TSM, 100 Thieves, Team Liquid and FaZe Clan sit at the top of the sport, yet their balance sheets look nothing like a traditional franchise. Below is the full picture of how the money actually flows, with real figures and a clear comparison you can reuse. If you are weighing a career in the space, pair this with our guide to esports jobs.

What is the biggest source of revenue for esports teams?

Sponsorship and brand partnerships are the biggest source of revenue for nearly every major esports team. This includes jersey logos, naming rights, energy-drink and hardware deals, and integrated content campaigns. Newzoo has repeatedly found sponsorship to be the largest single stream in esports, historically around 40 percent of total industry revenue, and team-level figures back that up: FaZe Clan drew about $24.8 million of its roughly $53 million in 2021 revenue from sponsors alone, according to Forbes.

The reason is simple. A pro roster and its content channels put a brand in front of a young, hard-to-reach audience for hours at a time. That attention is the product teams actually sell. A jersey deal for a top org can run into seven figures per year, which is why the logo-covered esports jersey has become the industry's most visible business model.

How much money do esports teams actually make?

The largest esports organizations pull in tens of millions of dollars a year in revenue, but the range is enormous. Forbes pegged the average value of the top 10 esports companies at $353 million in 2022, a 46 percent jump from 2020, with TSM ($540 million), 100 Thieves ($460 million), Team Liquid ($440 million) and FaZe Clan ($400 million) leading the list. Those valuations reflect brand strength and future potential, not guaranteed profit.

Below the top tier, revenue drops off quickly. Most mid-size orgs run on a handful of sponsorships plus content income, and many operate at a loss while chasing growth. Valuation and revenue are not the same thing, and neither guarantees the team is in the black.

How do esports teams earn from content and streaming?

Content and streaming have become a core revenue pillar, not a side hobby. Teams monetize YouTube and Twitch through ad revenue, subscriptions, and, most importantly, branded content that folds a sponsor into videos and live streams. This is why modern orgs sign creators and streamers alongside pro players: the audience follows personalities as much as the competitive results.

"There are a lot more commercial deals driven around content. Brands want specific content creators and streamers now rather than just the esports team."
Walter Wang, VP of Operations at TSM, speaking to Digiday

That shift explains the industry's favorite line about itself: esports orgs are content businesses first and competitive teams second. The roster earns the credibility; the content earns the cash.

Do esports teams make money from prize pools?

Prize money is real but it is a small and unreliable part of most teams' income. Tournament pools can be huge at the very top, yet the winnings are split among players, coaches, and the org, and only a portion reaches the team's bottom line. Dota 2's The International crossed $25 million in prize money in 2018, and the 2019 Fortnite World Cup offered a $30 million pool where solo champion Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf took home $3 million, per CNN.

For a stable business, though, prize money is closer to a bonus than a budget. It is volatile, it depends on results no team can guarantee, and it rarely covers the year-round cost of salaries, coaching staff, travel, and facilities. Smart orgs treat prize winnings as upside, not as the foundation.

What is league revenue sharing and franchising?

League revenue sharing is money that flows from a league back to its member teams, and in franchised leagues it can be a major income line. When a publisher runs a closed, franchised competition, teams buy permanent slots and in return share in central revenue: media rights, league sponsorships, and merchandise pools. Riot's League of Legends leagues, the Valorant Champions Tour partner model, and the now-defunct Overwatch League all used versions of this structure.

Franchising trades risk for stability. A slot can cost millions up front, but it locks in a place in the top competition, protects a team from relegation, and gives it a cut of the shared pie. The tradeoff is that team fortunes become tied to the health of the league itself, which cuts both ways.

Do esports teams make money from merchandise and fan products?

Merchandise is a steady, brand-building revenue stream, though it is rarely the largest one. Jerseys, apparel, and limited collaborations turn fan loyalty into direct sales, and top orgs increasingly run merch like a streetwear label, with drops, collabs, and scarcity. It also deepens the relationship that makes sponsorship valuable in the first place.

For most teams merchandise sits in the mid-single-digit to low-double-digit percentage of revenue. It matters more as a signal of fan strength, which teams then sell to sponsors, than as a standalone profit engine.

Are esports teams actually profitable?

Many esports teams are not consistently profitable, and that is the industry's open secret. Even highly valued orgs have run at a loss while investing in content, staff, and expansion, betting that scale and brand equity will pay off later. Streamer Herschel "Dr Disrespect" once claimed that outside of FaZe, esports orgs largely do not make money, a jab that owners like 100 Thieves' Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag and G2's Carlos Rodriguez publicly pushed back on.

The honest answer is mixed. A small group of orgs with strong content arms and disciplined costs do turn a profit. Many others are venture-backed growth plays that prioritize audience and valuation over near-term earnings. Profitability in esports is possible, but it is not the default.

How does esports team revenue compare to traditional sports?

Esports teams and traditional sports franchises earn from a similar menu but in very different proportions. A soccer or NFL club leans heavily on matchday income, broadcast megadeals, and stadium revenue that esports teams simply do not have. Esports orgs lean far harder on sponsorship and self-published content, which is why they behave more like media companies than like clubs.

Revenue stream	Esports team	Traditional sports club
Sponsorship	Largest stream, often 40 percent or more	Important but usually behind broadcast and matchday
Media and content	Self-published on YouTube and Twitch, growing fast	Centralized broadcast rights sold by the league
Ticketing and venue	Minimal, most events are league-run	Major, includes gate, hospitality, and concessions
Prize money and winnings	Present but volatile and shared with players	Competition prize money is minor next to salaries
League revenue sharing	Key in franchised leagues via bought-in slots	Long established through central media pools

The crossover is closing, though. As traditional sports owners buy into esports and leagues chase franchising, the two models keep borrowing from each other. For more on the money behind the games, see our breakdown of esports scholarships and the wider career map in our esports jobs guide. For verified prize and earnings data, Esports Earnings tracks tournament payouts by player, team, and title.

Frequently asked questions

How do esports teams make money without a home stadium?

They replace matchday income with sponsorship and content revenue. Because most competitions are run centrally by the game publisher, teams do not own venues, so they monetize attention instead: brand deals, streamed content, subscriptions, and merchandise built on a loyal online fanbase.

What percentage of esports revenue comes from sponsorship?

Sponsorship has historically been the largest single stream, around 40 percent of total esports revenue according to Newzoo, with advertising near 19 percent. At the team level the share can be even higher, as FaZe Clan's 2021 figures showed, where sponsors supplied close to half of all revenue.

Do individual players keep their prize money?

Players keep a negotiated share, but not all of it. Prize pools are typically split between the players, the coaching staff, and the organization under the terms of each contract, so a headline tournament payout is divided several ways before anyone banks it.

Which esports organization makes the most money?

The exact leader shifts year to year, but Forbes has ranked TSM, 100 Thieves, Team Liquid, and FaZe Clan among the most valuable, each valued at 400 million dollars or more in 2022. Valuation reflects brand and potential, so the most valuable org is not always the most profitable.

Are esports teams a good investment?

They can be, but they are high risk. Valuations have grown quickly and top brands command real revenue, yet many orgs are not consistently profitable and depend on continued sponsorship and content growth. As with any growth-stage business, upside comes with real uncertainty.

Figures reflect the latest published data available at the time of writing and are refreshed annually. Valuations from Forbes (2022); revenue-share and market figures from Newzoo.

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