Muselk reveals “mindblowing” CSGO brand deal that he turned down

While popular YouTuber Elliott ‘Muselk‘ Watkins is more commonly associated with the likes of Fortnite, and Overwatch in his rise to internet stardom, the content creator revealed one staggering CSGO deal he turned down.

The biggest names on Twitch and YouTube alike are often approached by globally recognizable brands in order to promote their products or services. Whether that be a new gaming headset or a new sneaker deal for instance. 

While many of these proposals see the light of day in the form of posts or even exclusive videos, deals are occasionally turned down. Revealing his biggest rejection, Muselk shared details on a staggering CSGO agreement he once turned down.

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A few years back when his channel was considerably smaller than the Fortnite juggernaut that it is today, Muselk was approached by a Counter-Strike betting company. He admitted he was “caught off-guard” by the lucrative pitch.

Although his YouTube channel was focused on Overwatch at the time, and not at all relevant to CSGO, the company reached out to him nonetheless. “We want you to do a sponsored video,” they suggested in the cold-message email. “We will give you $55,000 USD to do one sponsored video.”

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Muselk suggested it the biggest deal he’d seen up until that point in his career, and that it “was so much bigger than any other thing I’d ever done.” Yet, the “mindblowing” amountwasn’t quite enough for him to accept.

For mobile readers, the relevant section begins at 41:00.

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“I mulled on it for a little bit and ultimately was just like, no, I don’t wanna do that,” he explained. “I didn’t want to end up putting that content on my channel.”

“It was right during that CSGO gambling phase.” While the conversation hadn’t quite blossomed into the major scandal that it would soon reach, plenty of content creators were able to sniff out the “dodgy” nature of such a deal.

With various CSGO gambling websites rigging bets in their favor, the ruse was soon caught out and those attached to the brands undeniably took a hit. So while Muselk turned down a hefty payday, he also unknowingly dodged a big bullet.

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“Fundamentally, the more you do sponsored stuff on YouTube, the more you learn what’s appropriate,” he added, detailing that while the money can be great, not every brand deal is of the best interests of each unique content creator.

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By and large the biggest deal that he had seen at the time, he shared that while $55,000 USD was a huge chunk of change for a YouTube brand deal a number of years ago, he now knows people in the industry who have walked away from far more considerable sums in the last few years. “I know people who have turned down well into the six-figure amounts,” he added.

The YouTuber went on to discuss a number of brand deals over the years, from his first major opportunity with Ubisoft, to other collaborations that didn’t quite work out. This enormous CSGO deal stood out as the most significant that he had turned down, however.