Mentioned in this article
- Echo Fox will sell its League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) franchise slot, and has submitted a sales proposal to the league.
- ESPN reports that the buyer is Los Angeles Gladiators owner Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, at a purchase price of $30.25M USD.
- LCS commissioner Chris Greeley said that if the league rejects the proposed buyer, then Echo Fox has agreed to let the LCS find a new owner for the franchise slot.
Following struggles to oust a shareholder who used racist comments against a team co-owner—and a mandate from Riot Games 
to remove the offending investor—Echo Fox has submitted a proposal to sell its League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) franchise slot.
The official League of Legends esports Twitter account tweeted out the news Tuesday night, writing, “Echo Fox has submitted a proposal to sell its slot in the LCS to a new ownership group. The LCS is reviewing the potential sale and will be meeting with the proposed ownership group in the coming days.”
ESPN reports that the proposed buyer is Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, owner of the Overwatch League’s Los Angeles Gladiators , as well as Arsenal Football Club, the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, and the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. Sources close to the deal tell the publication that the purchase price is $30.25M. Echo Fox originally agreed to pay $10M for the franchise slot, and has paid half of that sum to date, league sources tell ESPN.
LCS commissioner Chris Greeley issued a statement to ESPN that nearly mirrors the above tweet at first, but also adds, “We’re working diligently to minimize disruption to Echo Fox players and staff for the 2019 season in partnership with the LCS Players’ Association. If LCS rejects the proposal, Echo Fox has agreed that LCS will be taking over the sale process for the slot. Our goal is to make sure we have an orderly transition and a new team ready for the 2020 season.”
In other words, Echo Fox will be departing the franchise slot one way or the other, whether it’s to the proposed buyer (reportedly Kroenke Sports & Entertainment) or another ownership group chosen by the LCS thereafter.
The Esports Observer has reached out to an Echo Fox representative for comment and will update if we hear back.
Related Article: EXCLUSIVE: Echo Fox Co-Owner Khalid Jones Speaks on Rick Fox’s Decision to Stay, Status of Shareholder Removal Efforts
Last week, the LCS announced that it had given Echo Fox an additional week to complete the process of removing the offending shareholder, Amit Raizada, who is alleged to have used racist language against both team co-founder Rick Fox and former CEO Jace Hall. Riot Games originally completed an investigation and gave Echo Fox 60 days to “take appropriate action,” otherwise the organization’s future in the league could be in jeopardy.
Fox originally planned to leave the team following an incident with Raizada, with his email to fellow stakeholders leaking to the press in April. In May, Fox instead announced plans to stay with the team and work to remove Raizada, who has admitted to some but not all of the allegations against him.
