Professional League of Legends was wild back in the day and before huge sponsorships. One OG pro has revealed that he did not get paid a salary while playing for TSM.
Marcus "Dyrus" Hill recently did a New Year's AMA on Twitter, stating that it's been a long time since he left the professional esports scene, and he couldn't hurt anyone anymore with his answers. While that might be true, he did manage to shock everyone with some answers.
He revealed some info on his salary that most couldn't fathom today. It sure takes you back to the grassroots of esports and how it all came to be, eh?
LoL: Dyrus Reveals TSM Paycheck
Before Dyrus joined TSM in 2012 and was already a semi-well known player back then. He truly made a name for himself on TSM back then, playing three years professionally before retiring in October 2015 and turning to full-time streaming.
In the recent AMA, Dyrus revealed that during his time as a player on TSM, he did not receive a salary, instead he made all his money through streaming. When thinking back at the time, this is actually not as crazy as one might believe.
i didn't take a paycheck, all of it was from streaming.
— Marcus (@Dyrus) January 3, 2024
In the early esports days, players might have been a part of an organization, but these did not have actual funds to pay for...well... anything. Seriously, who else remembers Scarra paying for everything while on Team Dignitas?
So, Dyrus choosing to receive 100% cut off his streaming is very feasible. TSM was also the biggest name in esports at the time and any players that were a part of the team would gain a huge following and a lot of viewers, simply by playing on the team. It was a huge popularity boost to be a part of TSM back then – unlike now... with the org having literally vanished.
It is crazy to think that even in the later stages of his career in Season 4 and 5, he did not receive a salary, but Dyrus did not elaborate in his AMA, so we will just have to believe him for now.