An Overwatch League team franchise will cost you $20 million, and you won't make money for four years – rumour

Overwatch League is a pretty expensive prospect for esports organisations, according to a new report.

Overwatch could be a great esports game if Activision Blizzard ever gets its act together, but some hot new intel goes some way towards explaining just why established organisations haven't flocked to its banner.

According to anonymous sources speaking to ESPN, Blizzard is asking a whopping $20 million franchise fee to buy into Overwatch League – and that's just the minimum price. Bigger markets like New York and LA are looking at footing an even larger bill.

That may not seem much in comparison with traditional sports leagues like the NBA or MBL, but it's higher than competing products. League of Legends, probably the most successful western esports scene, offers team franchises for $1.8 million.

Moreover, the report claims Overwatch League won't guarantee revenue sharing until after 2021 – and even then, only if Blizzard hits its financial targets, which were not disclosed.

Overwatch League is supposed to launch later this year, but sources said they doubt it will happen. Several major teams have dropped out of negotiations recently, and the sources said they expect more to follow suit.

We can only hope that Blizzard's new esports division will bring MLG's expertise to the table and sort all this out.

Overwatch has so much potential, and even those players who aren't interested in the pro scene even as a spectator would benefit from the years of support a successful esports initiative would guarantee.