With the competitive field and creative industry of esports, there remains a low physical barrier of entry not present in traditional sports. Unlike a game of soccer or basketball, competitors do not need to have the physical growth that comes with age, with the only qualifier being handling a mouse and keyboard or a controller. While esports teams signing younger players to either play in an academy setting or even in the professional ranks is nothing new, Team 33 made a splash when they signed 8-year-old Joseph “33 Gosu” Deen last month.
Deen, who was signed to the organization’s Fortnite roster, received a $33,000 signing bonus and a high-performance gaming setup valued at $5,000. The Los Angeles-based team had reportedly been scouting Deen for the past two years before deciding to sign him. However, this financial incentive raised even more questions beyond Deen’s young age. Within the Fortnite space, Epic Games has enforced a minimum age rule of 13 years for its tournaments, which came to public attention when FaZe Clan signed an underage H1ghSky1 to stream and compete despite being 11 years old at the time.
In a phone interview with Kotaku, Team 33 founder Tyler Gallagher argued that signing Deen is a perfectly legal move, stating: “Essentially, there’s no labor laws, because he doesn’t have to work. He’s just gaming… We’re not flying him out anywhere. He’s not entering tournaments. He’s playing like he would play on Saturday or Sunday. We’re legally allowed to give money to him because we believe in him and we’re making an investment.”
The contract between Deen and Team 33 was negotiated by his mother, Gigi, and her lawyer and includes an option to break the contract entirely if there are concerns regarding gaming taking too much time over schoolwork. Besides this stipulation, the contract is for Team 33 to build up Deen’s YouTube channel, train him in Fortnite and Call of Duty, and to sell merchandise based on him. Team 33 will take a 33 percent cut of profits from Deen’s YouTube and merchandise and have ownership over his account should he exit the contract. Considering 9-year-old Ryan Kaji is YouTube’s highest-paid star, there is some merit to focusing on Deen’s YouTube career.
Esports attorney Ryan Fairchild offered his take on the situation to Kotaku, saying: “My gut says that a Commissioner of Labor or Secretary of Labor would want to look at this closely and probably not like it.” Deen himself, supervised by his mother and Gallagher, gave a statement to Kotaku saying that while his nickname of “33 Gosu” was Gallagher’s idea, he is “excited” at the opportunity to be on Team 33.
Gigi Deen appeared to be of a more grounded perspective, limiting her son to one hour of play and allowing him to sign with Team 33 to nurture his passion for Fortnite. She referred to Team 33 as “an amazing team” and is in regular contact with them and Gallagher. Having a positive influence in a parent is reassuring for 33 Gosu, especially when other families in esports appear to be more hands-on in a different way as seen with RowdyRogan. Besides Deen, Gallagher is planning to add Jailynn Crystal Griffin, the 15-year-old daughter of musician Ty Dolla $ign. Her father was recently unveiled as a celebrity ambassador for Team 33.
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