Zhu Kai also revealed that last year Zeus gave up a big contract to play another year with his brothers, but the salary was very low, equivalent to one-third of what e-commerce offers in LPL.
Zhu Kai: Brothers, how much do you think Thor is worth? Everyone basically agrees on 1200, 1500, or 2000, right? Let me tell you something, last year JDG offered Thor a price of 2000 for two years, but Thor gave up that big contract to play another year with his brothers, and his contract price was very, very low, about one-third of the offer from our e-commerce. He stayed last year for about one-third of the price, willing to stay and fight another year with his brothers, and then this year he won the championship, that’s the situation.
As for Thor himself, he has actually given up a lot. What you hear online now is that all the public opinion is that Thor wants to raise his price, not adhering to some timeline, and was forced to sign this... filial son. Right? What you hear is this version, you are all hearing the pull.
I’ll tell you why, because in LCK, the public opinion is basically dominated by the five-star general, and no one dares to stand up. Very few people know the core information about this matter, and a lot of what is exposed is guided by their public relations. So everyone feels that currently Thor is on the unreasonable side.
But I tell you, Thor actually really wants to stay, but this price is completely not in line with market value. And now they say he went to this team for the rice, right? You all hear this version, but in fact, things are not as you imagine.
Thor actually expressed a strong desire to stay, including his agency wanting him to stay for another year, but the offer received was 1.4 billion (Korean won, about 7.3 million RMB). His club offered him 2.5 billion. This is still before tax 700! Two consecutive championships plus FMVP, the offer was 700, then after tax, how much is that? Calculate it, isn’t this like sending him off like a beggar? Because their taxes are also heavy, how much can he get after tax? I tell you this price is equivalent to possibly the salary of mid-tier players in LPL. He is a two-time champion and FMVP, and they hope he signs for how long? They hope he signs for 4 (years).
I’ll tell you why they want him to sign for so long, because the five-star general hopes he signs for four years, but our league can only stipulate a three-year contract, and what he wants is a 3+1 contract. Why do they want him to do this? Because they feel he should be someone’s successor, and they have a brand under them, a brand starting with Z.
I’ll tell you how much this brand sold before the World Championship, they sold 1.7 billion (about 830 RMB). Before the World Championship, the clothes and team uniforms alone sold for 17, just in such a situation of commercial value, they only offered him 1.4 billion a year, while his team offered him 2.5 billion. I think this is in line with market value because we in LPL offered him 2k last year, and he didn’t come.
Now I want to ask how many years can a player's youth last ? Can emotional value be worth the price difference of 11 in between? Would you be willing to accept a difference of 11 each year? Emotions are certainly valuable, for example, if someone offers 2.5 billion, you offer 2 billion and I come, I think this is reasonable, you want me to lower it a bit, then lower it a bit. It’s not at all the rumored difference of 5, it’s not at all like that. This difference of 11 is roughly equivalent to 500 or so here.
You can talk about emotions with the players, no problem at all. You can PUA someone for a year, but you can’t PUA someone for this year’s 3+1. Once this 3+1 is signed, it’s equivalent to the player’s youth being wasted on you. So all the public opinion online now feels that Zeus wants a higher price, but this is all public opinion from Korea, and no one dares to offend them, you understand what I mean?
The five-star general didn’t care about this at all, they thought Thor would definitely stay, so they didn’t pay attention to this matter and kept pressing the price on others. They thought no matter how much others offered, you would eventually stay with me.
And now what has this led to? It has led to their entire business plan collapsing. If he leaves, their business layout will be disrupted. The five-star general has investment from the beautiful country, but now others still don’t know about this, and they are still not clear about what exactly happened behind the scenes. If the Americans find out about this, they will really be in trouble. If they know the specifics of what happened, they will be in serious trouble.
Just for this little bit to pressure others a little bit to PUA others a little bit on price, and then ruin the commercial value for the next few years, others will also get angry.
14 converts to over 700 here, and then you still have to deduct taxes. If he signs with you, isn’t he a fool?
Actually, I tend to side with Thor on this matter, because I feel that you can talk to me about emotions, and of course I accept that. For example, if someone offers me a market value that I think is reasonable, 25 is equivalent to 1300. Last year, someone offered me 2000, but I didn't go for it. I've already been quite sentimental, right? If you still want to PUA me now, I can lower it a bit more, but what I can't accept is such a big difference in between, which is quite unreasonable, right?
