Activision Blizzard on Friday will confirm that 100 Thieves has bought into the Call of Duty League as the L.A. Thieves, a significant win for the publisher that brings one of the most popular organizations back into the sport. Terms for the deal are not being disclosed, but the original franchise fee that Optic agreed to was $25M, and industry execs said 100 Thieves may have had to pay a slight premium to get the slot. 100 Thieves President John Robinson told THE DAILY that he and organization Founder & CEO Matt “Nadeshot” Haag made the move because they were impressed with several facets of both Call of Duty as a video game this year and CDL’s inaugural campaign. When the opportunity to have an L.A. based franchise popped up, the combination left them feeling like this was the right time to get back involved in Call of Duty esports. 100 Thieves is based in L.A., and the organization did not want to purchase a franchise elsewhere. Robinson expects that sponsorship assets for the L.A. Thieves will be split between current 100 Thieves sponsors like Cash App plus new sponsors, though he wasn’t prepared to release further details.
BRIGHT FUTURE: The news is a notable win for Activision Blizzard Esports, which now has one of the most popular gaming organizations bought into one of its premier esports properties as it tries to grow them. Robinson credited Activision Blizzard and CDL Commissioner Johanna Faries for finding the middle-ground solution of letting organizations like 100 Thieves and FaZe Clan retain part of their identity while also hewing to the geo-located format of the league. In FaZe Clan’s case, it bought into the Atlanta franchise, which is now known as Atlanta FaZe. 100 Thieves was founded in '17 by Haag, who is one of the most decorated players in Call of Duty esports history. The organization has teams also competing in Fortnite, Valorant and League of Legends -- and it counts rapper Drake, music mogul Scooter Braun and Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert as investors. The organization recently announced that it is exiting the CounterStrike: Global Offensive esports scene, but Robinson said that decision was separate from the CDL move and was not made to help divert funds to the franchise purchase.
