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- Activision Blizzard has announced the first details on how player contracts will work for the upcoming Call of Duty Global League.
- The stipulations are similar to those for the Overwatch League, including minimum $50K USD guaranteed salaries with healthcare and retirement benefits.
- The franchised and geolocated league will begin play in 2020, replacing the current Call of Duty World League format.
In 2020, Activision Blizzard will launch the Call of Duty Global League, a city-based franchise league that replaces the current Call of Duty World League structure. Yesterday, the company announced initial details on player salaries and team roster construction.
In a Reddit post attributed to an official publisher account, Activision Blizzard laid out rules that closely mirror those for Overwatch League players and teams. The Overwatch League will transition to local market home and away matches for the 2020 season, and the Call of Duty Global League will begin with the very same format.
The Global League will continue with the 5v5 team format introduced this season in the World League, but Global League rosters must have additional signed players. Each roster must have at least seven players, and as many as 10 in total. With the expanded roster, the Global League may introduce mid-series substitutions, which the World League does not have.
Each player must be contracted with a guaranteed salary of at least $50K, along with healthcare and retirement benefits, plus teams must award at least 50% of all prize winnings to players. Teams are not required to provide housing or a housing stipend for players, but if they don’t, they must inform the league of plans to assist players in finding suitable housing. Players are not required to live in the city that their team represents.
Currently contracted World League players must sign a new contract to play for a Global League team. World League teams that will transition into the Global League have a seven-day window to match an offer sheet from a competing organization (for players signed through January 2020). World League teams can negotiate buyouts for players who want to sign with another Global League team, with the buyout capped at 100% of the player’s Global League salary plus any guaranteed bonuses.
Teams can also sign two-way players that are also allowed to compete in Path to Pro events, similar to the way that the Overwatch League allows some players to also be contracted to play for an organization’s academy team in Overwatch Contenders.
Activision Blizzard has so far sold 10 city-based franchise slots for the Call of Duty Global League. Yesterday, the league announced that it had sold a Florida franchise spot to Misfits Gaming, owner of the Overwatch League’s Florida Mayhem, and a Los Angeles spot to Los Angeles Gladiators owner Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. OpTic Gaming, now owned by Immortals Gaming Club, will operate a second Los Angeles team in the league.
