Cooper reveals salary while on eUnited
Do you remember when eUnited was back in the ESL Pro League? Do you remember when there even was an ESL Pro League in North America? Well, it was a long time ago, and Ryan "freakazoid" Abadir's younger brother was just breaking into the scene in 2018.
Austin "Cooper" Abadir joined eUnited as the team's newest player from Swole Patrol in 2018 where he was immediately rewarded for joining the lineup. According to the player, he earned $6,500 a month from eUnited at the time as the organization was part of ESL Pro League North America and even earned a spot at ESL One: New York 2019.
In the video Cooper posted, he also explained that he was unaware that travel expenses would be reimbursed by either the organization or the tournament itself—travel that can sometimes cost thousands of dollars.
Salaries in North America have long been a difficult subject, as it has become increasingly difficult to become a full-time professional in the region. Due to high living costs and a dwindling number of organizations investing in the region, players sometimes have to work day jobs or even stay in school while pursuing their dreams.
Today, some salaries are somewhat lower than Cooper's on eUnited. For example, Nouns, a decentralized autonomous organization, is transparent and shows exactly how much is spent.
Nouns pay $30,000 monthly for the entire roster, including their coach. They also offer additional performance bonuses ranging from $5,000 to $7,500. If all players, and the coach, are paid equally, it should be approximately $5,000 a month for each of the players.
While the salaries are still somewhat in the same ballpark, organizations like OpTic, Ghost, Rogue, and even Cloud9 have all left the North American scene in recent years making it hard for lineups to even earn that kind of money.
You can watch Cooper explain his salary, here.
