The whole esports scenario was taken by storm when Turner “Tfue” Tenney decided to sue FaZe Clan over an “oppressive” contract which was signed between the two parties. This move raised a lot of questions about the claims made by Tfue and the ethics of FaZe Clan while providing contracts.
After the news was revealed to the general public, FaZe Banks, owner of FaZe came out and denied all the claims made by Tfue and claimed that FaZe Clan had collected only 60,000$ from Tfue in his time at FaZe Clan.
After a long maintained silence, earlier today, Tfue claimed that he had tried to get out of FaZe to release him from his contract multiple times but was rejected multiple times. He requested FaZe Clan to “release the contract” signed between the two parties and started a movement called “#ReleaseTheContract”. The video on his YouTube channel has amassed a lot of popularity and has received 3 million views since it was uploaded.
After that, a website called, The Blast, has leaked the alleged contract signed between the 21-year-old and FaZe Clan, the internationally acclaimed esports organization.
The alleged contract has unfair terms and has been used by FaZe to eat through Tfue’s earnings through Fortnite and other revenue streams. In the contract, FaZe clan has rights over:
- 80% of the revenue generated through brand deals brought in by FaZe Clan.
- 50% of the revenue generated from In-game sticker/merchandise.
- 50% of the revenue generated from brand deals brought in by Tfue.
- 20% of all prize money through tournaments.
However, the misery doesn’t end here. The contract states that Tfue’s monthly salary was 2000$. If there is a material breach by the gamer, Tfue is not allowed to play video games publicly for six months following the termination of the agreement. Adding on, If Tfue receives an offer in the three months following his contract ending from any Fortnite team, Faze is obligated to be informed and may match the offer within fifteen days. If Faze matches the offer, they then have exclusive rights to Tfue.
The contract also has a clause about the confidentiality of the contract. It reads, “Gamer and/or Gamer’s representatives shall not issue any press releases nor make any other statements about Gamer’s Services, the Team, Company, its affiliates, agents and/or employees, or any other party involved in the Services (e.g. the sponsors) in any media (including, without limitation, any online or print communications) without Company’s prior written consent.”
If this is breached, Tfue will be entitled to pay a fee of 125% to the organization of his monthly salary including all travel costs incurred by FaZe Clan.
However, Tfue is the only FaZe member who has complained about unfair contract terms. CSGO players such as Karrigan and Xizt have said that the organization has always supported them. Xizt said that FaZe supported his move to Fnatic and aided him with the procedure. Both of the players made their respective statements on Twitter.
Following Tfue’s decision to sue FaZe clan, they have not been able to solve the issue between them and is likely to be taken to Los Angeles County court where a decision will be made.
The full leaked contract can be found here.
