Ninjas In Pajamas refuses to pay bonuses for stickers to its players

According to Dexerto, the Swedish esports organization Ninjas in Pajamas is refusing to pay sticker prizes to its players. The esports club is arguing with its former and current players regarding the money generated by stickers for the canceled ESL One: Rio 2020.

Recall that the Brazilian Major was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, stickers have already appeared on sale for the participation of teams in the RMR qualifiers. According to sources familiar with the situation, Ninjas In Pajamas had an agreement with the players, which the club refused to honor. Ultimately, former and current members of the team had complaints against the organization, which refused to share with a portion of the proceeds from the sale of stickers.

Nawwk is reportedly looking to take action against their former organization in an attempt to force them to pay out money to all players. Theoretically, the amount owed to each player is believed to be in the region of $200,000 - $300,000 based on what other players from the teams that made it to the Legends stage received.

At the same time, the esportsman refers to the terms of the contract with the esports club, which states the following:

The team receives 16.67% of the sticker money earned by the player. The player must receive the remaining 83.33% of the team sticker money shared with his teammates.

The player must allocate 2% of the money received for stickers to a marketing fund dedicated to the CS:GO team. The team must deduct the money upon receipt of the stickers and transfer them to a special bank account. Funds will be spent on initiatives approved by the CS:GO team. At least four four members of the team must approve the direction for which the amount will be spent.

The player receives 100% of the income from individual stickers.

However, the management of Ninjas In Pajamas does not believe that this clause obliges them to pay players any money, citing Valve 's vague wording when releasing stickers dedicated to ESL One: Rio 2020 and the RMR cycle. Most likely, the organization believes that Valve intended to support esports clubs with payments from this release as a means of financial assistance during the pandemic. The official CS:GO blog post announcing the release of the capsules stated that "for these stickers, 50% of the proceeds directly support the teams that qualify for the Major," which leaves no details.

The controversy has reportedly affected the entire team, but the three players remaining on the Ninjas In Pajamas roster, namely REZ, hampus and Plopski, are refusing to perform in public.

This is not the first time that Ninjas In Pajamas has been embroiled in a dispute over sticker prize money. In 2015, the team's players lost $340,000 in sticker sales, causing then-CEO Per Lilliefelt to leave the organization. The allegations led WESA (World Esports Association), of which Ninjas In Pajamas was a founding member, to ask ESIC to investigate the organization's treatment of players. However, the investigation was widely criticized due to the fact that WESA set a hard time limit for the end of the proceedings.