07-03-2019, 01:07 PM
Minnesota Vikings owners jump into esports with 'Call of Duty' team
The Wilf family that owns the Minnesota Vikings is launching an esports franchise that will compete in a "Call of Duty" league.
The league is run by Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), a Santa Monica, Calif.-based video game company with $7.5 billion in annual revenue. League play is expected to begin in 2020, with franchises already announced in Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Paris and Toronto. More franchises should be announced this month.
According to an ESPN report earlier this year, the franchise fee to get into the league is $25 million.
The Minnesota team will be run by Brett Diamond, who was previously the Vikings' director of partnership strategy and worked in the NFL league office before that. Diamond is the son of Jeff Diamond, the former Vikings general manager and architect of the team’s successful run in the 1990s.
Jonathan Wilf, the son of Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, will be the family’s lead on the esports franchise as president. The esports business is operated by an entity called Wise Ventures, though the franchise doesn’t have a name yet.
In addition to the Wilfs, Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, is an investor in the Minnesota team.
It may amaze older, non-video game players, but esports have become a big business, with millions of people watching from devices around the globe. That presents all kinds of sponsorship and advertising opportunities for companies.
Diamond got a taste of that interest when he oversaw "Madden NFL" competitions the Vikings held at Mall of America over the past few years.
“At the end of the day, entertainment is what people decide it is, and if fans and the population decide that what is interesting is to watch people playing video games, that is where the entertainment industry goes,” he said.
The Wilf family that owns the Minnesota Vikings is launching an esports franchise that will compete in a "Call of Duty" league.
The league is run by Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), a Santa Monica, Calif.-based video game company with $7.5 billion in annual revenue. League play is expected to begin in 2020, with franchises already announced in Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Paris and Toronto. More franchises should be announced this month.
According to an ESPN report earlier this year, the franchise fee to get into the league is $25 million.
The Minnesota team will be run by Brett Diamond, who was previously the Vikings' director of partnership strategy and worked in the NFL league office before that. Diamond is the son of Jeff Diamond, the former Vikings general manager and architect of the team’s successful run in the 1990s.
Jonathan Wilf, the son of Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, will be the family’s lead on the esports franchise as president. The esports business is operated by an entity called Wise Ventures, though the franchise doesn’t have a name yet.
In addition to the Wilfs, Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, is an investor in the Minnesota team.
It may amaze older, non-video game players, but esports have become a big business, with millions of people watching from devices around the globe. That presents all kinds of sponsorship and advertising opportunities for companies.
Diamond got a taste of that interest when he oversaw "Madden NFL" competitions the Vikings held at Mall of America over the past few years.
“At the end of the day, entertainment is what people decide it is, and if fans and the population decide that what is interesting is to watch people playing video games, that is where the entertainment industry goes,” he said.