Scump & Methodz call out Call of Duty League over ‘unfeasible’ $25m franchise fees

Retired Call of Duty League stars Seth ‘Scump’ Abner and Anthony ‘Methodz’ Zinni have criticized the ‘inappropriate’ fees that franchises have had to pay to join the league following reports of yet another team planning to pull out at the end of the season.

On February 23, it was reported that the Los Angeles Guerrillas will be looking to sell their CDL spot at the end of the current season, and if no buyer is found, they would simply dissolve operations and move on.

While nothing has been confirmed by the organization as of yet, it came as The Guard laid off multiple non-competing staff the day prior, the biggest yet in a wave of layoffs affecting a number of esports companies.

While discussing the report, Methodz and Scump spoke on some of the issues that organizations may face in the CDL. The pair ultimately said that the $25m buy-in fee was one of the key problems.

Methodz said: “That number is not feasible. A $25m buy-in is not appropriate for the size of our league. And now, if they’re talking about going back to YouTube, it’s even less of a reason to pay that money.

“I’m sure there’s an organization out there that would love to be in the Call of Duty League for a more appropriate price. There are plenty of cool organizations and sports owners who would probably love to be in the Call of Duty League. But not for a $25m price tag.”

Scump echoed that sentiment, though he worded it a little differently, saying that he would “cut his balls off” before paying $25m to join the CDL.

Methodz also added that on top of all of the other ventures that the Kroenke Sports & Entertainment group runs, they allegedly spent a lot on their NA Challengers Valorant team, and the LA Guerrillas are well-known for spending a lot on their Call of Duty players. This includes a reported record buyout from Atlanta FaZe for Alec ‘Arcitys’ Sanderson in the offseason.

With yet another organization contemplating backing out of the Call of Duty League, it remains to be seen whether the CDL will make any changes to its franchise entry fees going forward.