EG Valorant players reportedly offered 50% pay cut despite winning Valorant Champions

EG Valorant players are reportedly facing a choice between massive pay cuts to their salaries or leaving the Valorant Champions 2023 winning team.

On September 11 it was reported by Max Katz that the Evil Geniuses Valorant roster was facing a choice between taking a “significant pay cut” or looking for a new team to play for.

This news comes weeks after the team won the Valorant World Championships and $1 million in prize money from the tournament, on top of presumably earning Evil Geniuses thousands in Valorant Champions cosmetic money.

Winning is cool

sucks it doesn't matter anymore

— NRG Ethan (@ethanarnold) September 11, 2023

The news was followed by multiple cryptic posts from the EG Valorant players, with one saying in a live stream that the squad hasn’t been getting the respect it deserves from the organization.

According to new reports about the situation, the pay cut the players have been offered is around 50% of their original salary.

EG Valorant players reportedly subject to 50% pay cut for 2024 season

According to a report by Richard Lewis, the proposed pay cut from Evil Geniuses was “nearly half of the original number” and the organization offset that cut with an increase in the player’s cut of in-game cosmetic sales.

If players do not wish to have their salary cut down, they have been given the opportunity to explore options on other teams, the report confirms. However, Evil Geniuses could put buyouts on its player’s contracts that are too high for other organizations to pay.

The Valorant off-season has not even hit the one-week mark and teams are already dropping players and trying to build squads for the 2024 VCT season. The time for players to start looking for other teams to join is now, and those with buyouts on their contracts may find it hard to find a team amid a rapid off-season schedule and an aversion to spending from teams in the VCT Americas league.

EG dropped almost all of its reserve roster Valorant players before the off-season window opened and its starting lineup all have contracts expiring at the end of the 2024 season. Only time will tell how this situation will unfold for the players and the organization.