Team New Age released Deyy amidst leaked contract details.
Alleged unfavorable contract terms between Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) Chapter 2 - Season 4 Champion Deyy and his now-former organization - Team New Age (TNA) - became public this past weekend. After closing out the NA East FNCS tournament, where Deyy and trio teammates Reverse2k and Mero claimed their first major title, the impressive controller talent re-signed with TNA. The contract renegotiation took place just over one month ago, and information leaked that Deyy stood to make allegedly $600 USD per week hot off his FNCS performance. It didn’t take long for news to spread, leading to Team New Age releasing Deyy from his contract.
‘Unfair’ Contract Terms Led to Release
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Deyy has not spoken to the situation at hand publicly, but several other professional players, including the always-controversial Jonathan “Calc” Weber, tweeted about the questionable contract terms.
“600 BIG ONES a month is nuts Deyy is on a good contract and he should be thankful that he’s even getting a salary,” he wrote in his first tweet on the matter. “I’m honestly not sure why TNA thinks that it’s a good idea to lock a player into such a sh*t contract, they ruined their rep.”
The tweet went viral, which led to more discussions across the competitive Fortnite scene. It’s an issue we’ve seen countless other times. A relatively unknown player signs with an organization, finds success and feels they are entitled to more benefits. Although the source of the contract leak is unclear, the information spread like wildfire. The heat put on Team New Age prompted a statement from the organization.
Team New Age Releases Statement
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The statement reads, “We were introduced to Deyy well before FNCS. We saw an incredibly talented player who was bound to blow up. And he most certainly became a star in this community. We took a risk on a player that many others were not willing to bet on. We gave an opportunity to a player that deserved to be in an organization and tried to give Deyy as great a platform as possible.” Deyy initially signed in October, well before winning Fortnite’s flagship Season 4 event.
Also Read: Major Trio Shake-Ups Ahead of FNCS Season 5
Team New Age continued its statement. “Following FNCS we hoped to preserve our core trio that helped put TNA on the map in the competitive scene. It’s evidently going to be difficult for a younger organization to offer the same value as the biggest teams”. TNA’s first significant acquisition was former Team SoloMid player Reverse2k. It only made sense for the organization to sign his two trio teammates, making them one of only a handful to feature all three players representing the same brand.
“We have never forced a player to sign a contract. We will never force a player to stay if they are unhappy,” Team New Age wrote. “In no way did we mean to harm or halt anyone’s career, as shown by our decision to allow Deyy to explore his options via free agency. We genuinely apologize if this is how it was perceived by the community.”
A Well-Documented History of Contract Disagreements
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We’ve seen similar issues arise in the past. Most notably with professional players Dmitri “Mitr0” Van de Vrie and Benjamin “Edgey” Peterson. Both players were locked into less than ideal contracts, respectively, with Team Atlantis and FlyQuest. Both players eventually found their way out of those agreements. The situation between Deyy and Team New Age should serve as a cautionary tale to all young Fortnite players who start appearing atop leaderboards. Reading the fine print and understanding contractual obligations is imperative in esports.
TNA will now move forward without Deyy or Mero, the latter of which just announced himself as the newest member of XTRA Gaming.
Stay tuned to ESTNN for more Fortnite news and updates!
