Teen Lands $150,000 Contract To Play Overwatch Professionally

As further proof that e-Sports is catching up to actual sports in terms of prestige, a teen Overwatch superstar just landed a major contract worth $150,000 a year. The amount is intended to cover his time as a member of the team NRG Esports. What’s more, the money was settled after a fierce bidding war to win the favor of the teen.

The teen in question is 17-year-old Jay “sinatraa” Won, who is known in the world of Overwatch as a massively talented player, TechTimes reports. Contrary to what his name might imply, Won is actually American and has been competing in professional e-Sports competitions even before the formation of the current Blizzard tournament.

The $150,000 contract salary is a full $100,000 higher than the minimum wage that the video game publisher had set for professionals participating in the league. This proves just how much NRG wanted Won. For a time, sinatraa was actually the subject of a bidding war between NRG and Cloud9.

Eventually, Won’s mother, who is the legal proxy due to the e-Sport athlete’s age signed the player up with NRG. This puts him in the same team that his former coach, Brad Bajani is handling. Both Bajani and Won used to be under the Selfless Gaming banner.

On top of the contract salary that Won has secured, he will also be receiving 50 percent of the bonuses that are earned by the team, Twinfinite reports, along with several more revenue options. Regardless of which team he is part of now, Won will still be representing the North American brand as players go head to head against the best that South Korea can offer.

The two sides will clash in Anaheim, California on November 3rd and 4th. Suffice it to say, the event has drawn considerable hype from fans of Overwatch.