The first details of how player contracts will work for the upcoming Call of Duty Global League were announced by Activision Blizzard.
The stipulations are similar to those for the Overwatch League, including salaries with healthcare and retirement benefits that are guaranteed at least $50K.
The franchised and geolocated league will start playing in 2020 to replace the current format of the Call of Duty World League.
Activision Blizzard will start the Call of Duty Global League in 2020, a franchise league based in the city that replaces the present framework of the Call of Duty World League. The company announced initial details on player salaries and the construction of a team roster yesterday.
Activision Blizzard laid down rules in a Reddit post attributed to an official publisher account that closely mirror those for players and teams in the Overwatch League. For the 2020 season, the Overwatch League will move to local market home and away matches, and the Call of Duty Global League will start with the same format.
The Global League will continue with the 5v5 team format implemented in the World League this season, but extra contracted teams must be in the rosters of the Global League. Each roster must have a minimum of seven players and a total of as many as 10. The Global League can introduce mid-series substitutions with the expanded roster, which is not available to the World League.
Each player must have a guaranteed salary of at least $50 K, along with health and retirement benefits, plus teams must award players at least 50% of all prize wins. Teams are not required to provide players with housing or a housing stipend, but if they do not, they must inform the league of plans to help players find appropriate housing. Players are not required to live in the city represented by their team.
World League players are currently contracted to sign a new contract to play for a Global League team. World League teams transitioning into the Global League have a seven-day window to match a competing organization’s offer sheet (for players signed by January 2020). World League teams can negotiate buyouts for players who want to sign up with another Global League team, with the buyout capped at 100 percent of the Global League salary of the player plus any guaranteed bonuses.
Teams can also sign up for two-way players who are also permitted to compete in Path to Pro activities, comparable to how the Overwatch League also enables some players to play in Overwatch Contenders for the academy squad of an organization.
Activision Blizzard has sold 10 league Call of Duty Global city-based franchise slots so far. The league announced yesterday that it had sold a Florida franchise spot to Florida Mayhem’s Misfits Gaming, owner of the Overwatch League, and a Los Angeles spot to Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, owner of Los Angeles Gladiators. OpTic Gaming, which is now owned by Immortals Gaming Club, will run a second team in the league in Los Angeles.
