Turner “Tfue” Tenney is Suing FaZe Clan
Nobody is going to sue Provenzano, but there is someone within Esports trying to keep a lawyer on his leash.
Turner “Tfue” Tenney is suing FaZe Clan citing a limited ability to pursue his profession due to stringent and unfair contract stipulations. The 21-year-old signed a deal with FaZe Clan in April of last year, and his attorney, Bryan Freedman of Freedman + Taitelman, believes they were out of line.
The accusations will sting.
Freedman claims that professional Esports players and streamers are ‘artists, entertainers and content creators’, and they need protecting in an industry that has “little to no regulation or oversight” when dealing with the ‘young and trusting.’
The deal that Tenney signed only allows him to keep 20% of his revenue from branded videos that appear on Twitch, YouTube and social media, and 50% from touring and appearances.
Tenney has 10m YouTube followers and 5.5 Instagram followers. It’s not Tyler Blevins level (Blevins told CNN in December that he earned $10m playing Fortnite last year), but it’s a lot of bucks to be handing over to your employer.
“That Gamer Agreement is grossly oppressive, onerous, and one-sided,” said Freedman. “Faze Clan uses its illegal Gamer Contracts to limit Tenney to deals sourced exclusively by Faze Clan and to prevent Tenney from exploring deals presented by others; deals that are potentially superior to deals procured by Faze Clan; and deals that are not saddled with an eighty percent (80%) finder’s fee.”
The story broke in The Hollywood Reporter, and FaZe Clan reacted by posted a rebuttal on Twitter admitting that the clause exists, but claiming never to have invoked it, stating the contracts need updating with plans for the players to receive 80% of revenue with 20% heading into the FaZe Clan coffers. FaZe Clan also said that Tenney and his team have turned down several new contract offers.
“We have only collected a total of $60,000 from our partnership, while Tfue has earned millions as a member of FaZe Clan.” Said FaZe Clan.
Freedman is going for the jugular, claiming that FaZe Clan take advantage of young artists by pressurising them to live with other youngsters, giving them alcohol and encouraging them to gamble illegally. Freedman also stated that FaZe Clan signed an 11-year-old gamer, and told him to lie about his age.
