Nadeshot says 100 Thieves wouldn’t be in esports if he had to start again

Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag and Jack ‘CouRage’ Dunlop were interviewed on the Colin and Samir podcast about the state of 100 Thieves and esports in general.

The two hosts grilled Nadeshot and CouRage about 100 Thieves and its current business model, Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry are two veteran content creators who talk to top creators about trends and the creator economy in general.

When discussing the potential of creating esports events under the 100 Thieves brand, Nadeshot said esports and creators are two different businesses. He then revealed that esports wouldn’t be part of the equation if he could start 100 Thieves again.

“With the amount of capital that we have raised, if we could go reset and start from scratch there probably would not be any focus on esports, if I had to make that decision today as a businessman who has 10s of millions of dollars at his fingertips to deploy as CEO of the company,” he said on the show.

(Topic starts at 48:15)

Nadeshot explained that based on where esports and his company are positioned, and the amount of money it has raised, it is best for 100 Thieves to act like a “traditional sports company.”

The former Call of Duty pro did not say he was completely out on esports, because with gaming and competitive titles there “will always be another opportunity in the future” for the business.

Nadeshot also talked about how 100 Thieves makes money as a company. He broke down their revenue streams as 50% from partnership revenue, 30% from merchandise and Higround keyboard sales, and 20% from in-game revenue from cosmetics sales in Valorant and Call of Duty.

Samir also asked the 100 Thieves CEO later in the interview if he thinks esports and its teams should still be backed by venture capital at the scale the business is now.

The 100T founder said he “would never write that check again” if he ran a venture capital fund based on how esports has grown since the late 2010s. Nadeshot also pushed back on the idea that esports could reach the rights people in the industry claimed it could be before the esports winter hit.

“It’s okay if we don’t reach the ceiling that really didn’t even exist at the time… there’s something pure about esports,” he said.

Nadeshot was hopeful about the future of gaming and esports as a whole. He said teams that focus on maintaining profitability and who can stick in it for the long haul, can still make it big if esports does become as big as they pitched to investors.