Team Spirit Player Salaries Revealed

On April 1, CEO of Team Spirit , Nikita "Cheshir" Chukalin, interacted with followers on his Telegram channel and addressed a range of intriguing questions. He touched on topics such as transfers, the level of competition in CS2 , and player salaries. These insights offer a glimpse into the club's inner workings and the overall state of the esports industry.

What will happen with kyousuke?
One of the interesting questions was about the status of the young talent from Spirit Academy, Maksim "kyousuke" Lukin. Followers were curious about the player's future. Cheshir responded:

Maksim is definitely one of the main talents of his generation. We will choose the best path for him in the next transfer window.
Cheshir

How has the level of competition in CS2 changed compared to CS:GO?
The next question concerned changes in the level of competition between CS2 and CS:GO. Followers wanted to know if it has become more challenging to maintain a leading position in the new version of the game:

Our level has grown significantly over the past few years, so it's hard to compare from our perspective. From the outside, in my opinion, it has changed slightly, if we're talking about relative level, not absolute.
Cheshir

Player salaries at Spirit
The conversation also touched on the financial side of esports, with followers interested in which discipline Team Spirit pays the highest salaries and the general amounts professional players earn. Cheshir explained that in CS2 , salaries have historically been higher than in other disciplines. In another question, he specified that amounts range from $500 to $30,000 net.

Salaries in CS2 have historically been higher, and this applies not only to our club.
Cheshir
Although he didn't specify the discipline, it's reasonable to assume that the upper limit refers to CS2 , considering his previous statement about high salaries in this game.

Could m0NESY transfer to Spirit?
There was also discussion about potential transfers. One follower asked a reasonable question: could Team Spirit consider the transfer of Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov? The club's CEO replied:

Ilya is an amazing player, and I would be happy to work with him, but right now we have a player just as good and with more suitable skills for our team.
Cheshir

Reasons for the loss to Team Vitality
Followers also touched on the topic of Team Spirit 's loss to Team Vitality , asking about the reasons for the poor performance. To which the CEO of Spirit responded:

I think our last BO3 with them was more than competitive, and I definitely wouldn't call it weak. If we're talking about the Katowice final, there were several factors, primarily the incredibly tough game with NAVI in the semifinals, which took a lot of energy.
Cheshir

How much does it cost to create an esports team?
A follower asked about the cost of creating an esports team, at least tier-2 level, to which Cheshir replied:

We need to narrow down the understanding of tier-2. If we're talking about a top-20 HLTV roster plus a ~top-16 Dota team, along with covering operational costs and payroll, it's at least $1.4 million per year.
Cheshir

Cheshir's responses provide an inside look at Team Spirit and how the club approaches player development and transfer market strategy. Additionally, his words confirm that CS2 remains the most lucrative discipline, and the battle for top talent in it continues.