Plus 1 for Riot

Admittedly, I have been a long time critic of Riot and how they handled the LCS. It baffled me that they reported very low profitability, claimed to operate large, widely watched LCS events like MSI and Worlds at a net loss, their removal of Misfits and Renegades without substantiating any claims of wrong doing by the teams, other than making claims of wrong doing, lack of a player association, lack of a revenue sharing plan, lack of stability for teams, and a host of other minor issues all attributed to my many complaints about the structure of the LCS.

Their announcement of the new franchising system is a huge plus for Riot, and I think this is a giant step in the right direction for the LCS. I'll do my best to expound upon my opinion here and dispel one myth I'm already seeing all over the place.

1. No, it is not just a simple application and pay a huge fee to get a Franchised slot. The application process, at least what's been let onto in other findings by journalists, is going to dive into how the team brand adds to the value of the LCS, what benefits do the teams plan to offer to their players and potential "retirement" packages or severance packages that will go towards the education or post-LCS careers of players. Only $5 million of the fee itself will be required up front, and the rest must be paid over some unspecified period of time.

2. Regulation goes away, which is a good thing. Teams have often complained about the hampering affect that relegation has had on their long term marketability. Because teams were forced to generate their own revenue from advertisement/sponsorship agreements, sponsors were often hesitant to agree to more lucrative and longer term agreements. Which the lack of guaranteed, long term, revenue has often been a point of contention for teams when it comes to player salary, benefits, and the teams own solvency.

3. LCS teams get a minor league system to farm talent out of. The creation of an Academy league where all LCS teams equally get access to a minor league team is a good thing. Teams need a place to prove, develop, and otherwise find ways to benefit the organization that doesn't come with the risk of the entire organization's efforts. The constant complaint of "no creativity in champ select" and other areas of how teams play, fundamentally stems from the fact that to play anything not considered "meta" could mean poor performance that gets a team relegated, which would essentially mean a total loss for the organization. The removal of relegation and the addition of permanent Academy teams will provide the wiggle room necessary for teams to experiment with different line ups, different strategies, and different talent pools

4. Rev sharing and Franchising removes risk to the teams and will generate competition. This is probably the most important piece of the puzzle here. Teams and fans no longer have to worry about their teams being relegated because of one bad season or split. The revenue sharing structure creates an incentive for teams to perform well, but the franchise agreement will reduce the level of risk, meaning that teams have the room to compete. One of the main worries of fans, owners, and operates alike was a franchise system that would fully protect, and in some way encourage, teams to tank to the bottom to get a good "draft pick". But because there is no draft, and because there is a higher revenue share for teams that perform well.

There are a few things that are unclear though, that could become problematic in the future.

1. It is unclear whether Riot is directly funding the players association and/or player salary. This is could be problematic because in the event the PA determines that a player strike is the only resort, Riot could blackmail the players by withholding payment because they could be "in violation" of a contract agreement. So, I'll be looking for more details into how the payment structure is actually going to exist.

2. The Academy league being limited to only Academy teams might create poor competition at the bottom. In the event a team should be "booted" from the LCS, it may prove difficult to find a team to fill that spot and that might become a revolving door of teams. If the Academy league was expanded to allow more teams to play into the league it would create an environment for new ownership to gain experience, develop a culture and healthy environment, and would make it easier on Riot when it comes to picking a team to replace a de-franchised LCS team. It would also provide a proving grounds where a successful non-LCS associated Academy team could develop relationships with sponsors and advertisers as well, which would help ease the worries of any potential league partners.

While the details are still vague, I expect great things for the LCS next year. It's obviously not a perfect plan, but this definitely elevates the legitimacy of the LCS nearly to the levels of more traditional sports.