Here's How Much Salary Esports Players Earn in the Philippines

Even as stories of Mobile Legends pro players buying houses routinely make the news, the issue of compensation remains a hush-hush topic within the industry.

This is not unique to esports. Even the country’s biggest sports league, the PBA, does not publicly disclose the salaries of players — a marked difference from the NBA, where multimillion dollar deals are routine announcements every offseason.

Many fans say that transparency in this department would be a key reform within the sometimes opaque world of local sports.

Still, reliable sources have disclosed to Spin.ph over the years the salaries of players and coaches in the PBA. A quick recap: Players are guaranteed a minimum of P70,000 a month as part of the universal players’ contract, or UPC. This salary caps out at P420,000.

How does the MLBB pro scene compare?

Revealing the monthly salary of a Mobile Legends player

In a Frontline sa Umaga feature with Blacklist International’s Edward Jay “Edward” Dapadap and TNC Pro Team, sports anchor Gretchen Ho claimed that even a rookie MLBB pro player makes P15,000 to P30,000 a month.

“Tataas pa yan depende sa experience ng atleta,” she added.

Various sources have corroborated these figures with Spin.ph.

In two contracts we viewed, a player who only recently turned pro was entitled to P20,000 a month.

However, achieving “Top 1” in the major pro tournaments — the MPL-PH, the MSC, the M3 world series, and more — entitled that player to a 15 percent increase in salary.

Meanwhile, 25 percent of the prize money earned by the team would go to the esports organization, and 75 percent would be passed on to the players.

Revenue from ancillary sources (among them, merchandise and promotions) is paid directly to the company.

Some time later, this pro player was able to successfully transition to another team. His compensation jumped to P30,000 a month. His new organization, however, would take 30 percent of the prize winnings.

In addition, a clause in the contract said that the athlete would be in charge of his income tax for his salary, bonus, commissions, and others.

These fees would be reviewed by the team on an annual basis, stated the contract.

Professionalization of league sets minimum standard salary

In August 2021, before the launch of Season 8, the MPL-PH revealed that it would transition to a franchise system, with eight teams holding a slot each.

As part of the league’s push into a more professionalized setup, the league would implement several standards, including “the full protection of rights and interests, which includes minimum player salary, weekly team subsidies, and code of conduct,” said Matt Jaron, the MPL-PH's then-head of business development, at the time.

The MPL-PH has not publicly disclosed this minimum salary.

However, teams are presumably free to negotiate a wide range of salary options for their players.

Speaking to the reporters under condition of anonymity, a player with several years of experience in the MPL-PH said that he had a monthly salary of P30,000.

The biggest amount we heard was from one of a team’s acknowledged “franchise players”. Spin.ph learned that he earned P80,000 a month from his team.

Team executives speak on player salaries

Spin.ph spoke to two highly placed team executives about the issue of player salaries.

One, who spoke to us under condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue, did not reveal Moonton’s mandated minimum. But they agreed to give the upper end of the salary range they’re aware of.

To this executive's knowledge, the highest paid players in the league are paid almost as much as the lowest-earning PBA stars.

“Should be from minimum to P50,000. Naglalaro doon sa P50,000 to P70,000, depende sa achievement ng player. Sometimes higher than that,” they said.

“We are not allowed to be lower than [Moonton’s minimum]. May pinirmahan kami with Moonton about the salary and contract. May protection na binigay si Moonton for the players about sa salary and contract,” they added.

Still, they stressed that their organization provides more than just a base salary.

“I can’t say the exact kung ano nasa contract, of course, [pero] meron kaming salary increase and other benefits na meron yung ibang company, like social security,” they said. “We also provide all expenses paid na travel for players, or for team building before and after MPL.”

Meanwhile, Rafael Sanchez, country manager of Onic PH, agreed to speak to Spin.ph on the record about player compensation.

“Now, actually, it's a bit different now kasi iba rin yung partnership with Monster Anarchy right now,” he said by way of disclaimer. “But what I can give you is [for the former players]. Kasi I know the numbers.”

So how much were Dlar, Kairi, Baloy, and co. earning at that time?

“Normally, our minimum is around $400 (around P22,800, based on current exchange rates). And then the highest can go up to a range of around, for example $1,400 (around P80,000) to $1,500 (around P85,700),” said Sanchez.

He confirmed that, during Season 9, Gerald "Dlar" Trinchera was the highest paid player in the team, but did not give an exact figure for his salary. Dlar is currently playing for EVOS Legends in Indonesia. In a separate press conference last week, Sanchez also made the claim that players made three times as much in Indonesia compared to the Philippines.

In a phone call to Spin.ph, Sanchez also spoke about what he knew about salaries in amateur teams.

According to him, there’s a wide gulf between what pro players are earning, and what their counterparts in the minor leagues are getting.

From: SPIN.ph