Global Poker League Compensation Details Released
We have heard the Global Poker Index’s Alexandre Dreyfus talk about his efforts to “sportify” poker for years now; the upcoming chapter is the Global Poker League (GPL), which is about to get rolling this month. And while we have been fed information about the Global Poker League in dribs and drabs, one thing we had yet to learn about is how much money is actually up for grabs. After all, this is poker, and if the world’s best are going to be spending the time to travel all over the place for this new endeavor, they are going to want to have a chance for a payday, right?
The payment structure is a little convoluted, but with the publishing of the player contract on the Global Poker League’s website, things have been made clearer. Schedule B of the contract lays out player compensation and bonuses, starting with an hourly appearance fee. This season, players will be paid $100 per hour of play; that figure will increase to $150 per hour for the 2017 season. Each of the five players of the eventual championship team will receive an equal share of the $100,000 team prize.
All expenses that are deemed necessary to attend Global Poker League events, such as travel, lodging, and food, will be paid for by the League.
Aside from money derived from poker play, the GPL players will also receive payment based on revenue their team makes from things like sponsorships, licensing, and merchandising. This is revenue generated specifically by the team, not by the league as a whole. A full 70 percent of a team’s Net Team Revenue (revenue minus expenses directly related to the generation of that revenue) is given to the League. 15 percent is split evenly amongst the five team members, while 5 percent goes directly to the team’s manager. The remaining 10 percent of Net Team Revenue will be divided equally amongst all of the other players in the Global Poker League who are not on the team from which the revenue came. Thus, 10 percent of a team’s Net Team Revenue will be shared amongst 55 other players (11 other teams, five players per team).
Players can also make extra money if they bring sponsors to the GPL. If a player introduces a sponsor, advertiser, or similar partner to the League and a deal is struck, the referring player will be given 15 percent of the net revenue received by the GPL from the partner in the contractual relationship’s first year. That number goes down to 10 and 5 percent in the second and third years of the contract, respectively.
If a promotional contract is signed for longer than three years, the referring player still only receives a benefit for three years. Additionally, if a contract is signed for fewer than three years and is then extended, the player only gets the referral fee for the initial contract. The example given in the player contract is that if a sponsor and the GPL agree to a two-year contract and then renew it for another two years after the initial contract is up, the player who brought the sponsor to the league only receives a payment for those first two years, not the third year, as that is a new contract.
To this writer, that seems like a nice little loophole that the Global Poker League could use to avoid paying a referral fee for an extra year (or two, if the first sponsorship/marketing/whatever contract is for just one year), but since that has not actually happened yet, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say this would never be done purposely.
The Global Poker League may also put on exhibition events that do not count towards the League standings. Players who are not on a GPL team may be invited to participate in these exhibition events and they do get paid, but, and perhaps this is obvious, not to the full extent “actual” GPL team members do. Exhibition players will still get the $100 hourly rate as well as have their expenses paid, but they don’t get a piece of any sponsorship dollars.
The Global Poker League draft will be held February 25th at the SLS Hotel Beverly Hills. There will be three rounds, each of which will be randomized. Team managers will pick one player per round. All players in the top 1,000 of the Global Poker Index rankings are eligible for the draft, though they are not required to be part of it; those who want to participate must submit their names ahead of time. During the week after the draft, team managers will also select one player each as a “Wild Card” to complete their teams. The teams, along with their managers, are as follows:
Berlin Bears: Philipp Gruissem
Hong Kong Stars: Celina Lin
Los Angeles Sunset: Maria Ho
Las Vegas Moneymakers: Chris Moneymaker
London Royals: Liv Boeree
Montreal Nationals: Marc-Andre Ladouceur
Moscow Wolverines: Anatoly Filatov
New York Rounders: Bryn Kenney
Paris Aviators: Fabrice Soulier
Rome Emperors: Max Pescatori
San Francisco Rush: Faraz Jaka
Sao Paulo Metropolitans: Andre Akkari
COMMENTS