Red Bull Media House is in the process of "winding down sponsorships with North American multigame esports teams Cloud9 and Team SoloMid as a result of a what Riot Games considers a potential conflict of interest," according to sources cited by Jacob Wolf of ESPN.com. Moving forward, Red Bull North America -- which also "sponsors a number of tournaments in the fighting game community, such as Community Effort Orlando and Genesis 4 -- will look to sponsor other teams in the North American esports ecosystem." Sources said that Red Bull is currently "negotiating a contract with multigame organization Tempo Storm" -- the current basis is a $3M, multiyear deal. The closure of the agreements with Cloud9 and Team SoloMid is a "result of Red Bull's main company, Red Bull GmbH in Austria, owning and operating an European League of Legends Challenger Series team, named the Red Bulls." This "presents a conflict with Riot Games' sale of sponsorship rules." It is unclear of how losing the Red Bull sponsorship will "affect the finances of these organizations." Sources said that it was "very lucrative" for Cloud9 and Team SoloMid. Both teams are often "regarded as two of the most wealthy and established brands in North American esports" (ESPN.com, 6/21).
