Schalke 04 has decided to sell their League of Legends European Championship (LEC) franchise spot to Team BDS for a crisp €26.5 million ($31.5 million), a significant increase from the €8 million ($9.5 million) price tag they paid to acquire the spot in 2019.
Why?: Schalke 04 Esports’ parent club had been struggling in the Bundesliga, eventually leading to their relegation from the league’s first division a couple months back in April. On top of ongoing financial struggles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their relegation leads to another significant loss in potential revenue for a club that is looking to pay back €217 million ($258 million) in debt, according to its 2020 financial report. While a sale of the Schalke 04 Esports spot in the LEC won’t pay off the full debt, it will help eliminate a significant chunk of it.
The Future: Nearly six months after the search began, Schalke 04 and Riot Games have finally settled upon Swiss competitors ‘Team BDS’ of European Regional League ‘La Ligue Française’ (LFL) of France to take over the spot. Team BDS is relatively new to competitive League of Legends, but have already been making waves since they dove into the scene in May 2020 with the acquisition of then Bastille Legacy’s spot in the LFL Second Division. Team BDS went 13-0-5, eventually being promoted to the First Division that same season. With the sale now being finalized, Team BDS will assume full control of the spot in early 2022 ahead of next season.
Fun, Financial Fact: The sale of Schalke 04’s spot is the second-largest Western franchise sale in the history of League of Legends esports. It trails only Echo Fox of North America’s League Championship Series (LCS), who’s spot sold to Evil Geniuses for $33 million back in the Fall of 2019.
Image taken from: Esports.com
