In the latest episode of the Talking Counter podcast, caster Moses shared a conversation he had with Valve developers on-site at the tournament. When he suggested introducing "team gloves" to increase the teams' revenue share, a Valve developer retorted that "teams wouldn't spend the money wisely even if they earned it."
moses: Actually, regarding Valve's changes to the Major store, I think Valve, the teams, and the players all have their own valid points. However, suddenly just "ruining" the teams' steady income from the past decade like this is still quite shocking.
Aurora Team Gloves Concept Art
moses: I once suggested to a Valve developer at a tournament, "How about we release a 'team-themed Major glove' to help teams earn more money?" But Valve always answered my suggestion with another question: "If teams earn more, will they actually spend the money wisely?" The above is my "paraphrase," not Valve's exact words, just my understanding of their meaning. Valve's general point was, "Even if we successfully help teams 'generate more revenue' through additional channels, it won't necessarily lead them to 'spend it more wisely.'"
Actually, this issue has existed in the esports scene for a long time. Back during the "esports boom" in 2016, venture capital money was poured into clubs indiscriminately, but when it came to spending, the clubs seemed to never even consider the question of "how to provide returns to investors?" This is truly a pathological phenomenon.
So from a certain perspective, I can also understand the logic that "making it to a Major doesn't mean you deserve to take home hundreds of thousands of dollars."