Before the Overwatch League started reports and rumours emerged about how much the franchise slots were selling for in the competition, and now a new report by ESPN claims to have heard from sources close to negotiations for a franchised Call of Duty league that these are selling for $25 million USD each.
This would be city-based like the Overwatch League, and is expected to start in 2020, according to the report, which also adds that executives at Activision Blizzard have been meeting with potential buyers this past week, allegedly asking for an indication of interest. Overwatch League team owners also apparently have first right to negotiate in their home market.
With the experience in the Overwatch League, which expanded with eight teams for the 2019 season, it wouldn't be surprising to see a similar model taken up with a Call of Duty league, but of course take these reports as unconfirmed and with a pinch of salt for now.
Is this kind of approach suitable for Call of Duty esports?