Mosad Aldossary, an 18 year old from Saudi Arabia known in esports as Msdossary, won the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena in London in August, taking home $250,000 (£191,000) from the tournament alone. Last month he was in London again, this time at The Best FIFA Football Awards, mixing with players including Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos.
Msdossary was not up for an award himself, but he is one of the biggest names in competitive FIFA. He is still not the richest or most famous person making money from the game.
YouTubers and streamers cashing in
That distinction belongs to FIFA YouTubers and Twitch streamers, who have turned playing the game into a full time career. Olajide Olatunji, known online as KSI, is among the most prominent. He started uploading to YouTube in 2011 and now has nearly 20 million subscribers, with his videos amassing more than 4 billion views combined.
Wikipedia lists his occupation as YouTuber, rapper, video game commentator, comedian, actor and amateur boxer. He has released rap albums, starred in a film, and stepped into the boxing ring against fellow YouTubers, defeating Joe Weller and drawing with Logan Paul in a fight that drew more than one million pay per view buys, with millions more watching online afterwards. KSI reportedly earns up to £2.9 million a year from sponsorships, merchandise sales and advertising revenue, and it was FIFA content that first made him famous.
Life inside the Sidemen House
KSI is part of the Sidemen, a group of British YouTubers, several of whom also built their audiences playing FIFA and other games. Four of them share a mansion, dubbed the Sidemen House, which has a roof terrace, gym, swimming pool and large garden. Between them they drive Lamborghinis, Audis and Aston Martins.
How the money works
YouTube creators earn money mainly through the YouTube Partners Program, which places adverts before and during videos and splits the revenue 55-45% in the creator's favour. Uploaders typically make between £1 and £3 for every 1,000 views, though the biggest names earn far more once sponsorship and merchandise deals are added. KSI alone has logged 4 billion views since he began uploading.
Competitive players earn differently, through tournament prize money and team contracts. Spencer "Gorilla" Ealing, last year's FIFA World Champion, had a disappointing season by his own standards but still collected more than £30,000 in prize money. Esports professionals are signed to teams much like traditional athletes, and being good enough to compete is effectively a full time job.
New leagues and old habits
Fans now watch top FIFA players the way they watch professional footballers, whether it is Gorilla streaming high level matches or Harry "wroetoshaw" Lewis opening card packs in FIFA Ultimate Team. The Premier League and EA Sports have also launched the ePremier League, giving the country's best FIFA players the chance to represent real world clubs and earn money doing so.
There is also a less official route to profit. EA Sports opposes the practice, but a black market exists for FIFA Ultimate Team coins, which players need to buy the best cards. Websites sell 20,000 coins for a few pounds, while a card for Lionel Messi, who can cost between 700,000 and 1,000,000 coins, might run upwards of £100. Some players resell rare pulls on the auction house and cash out the coins, while others sell entire accounts on eBay. It will not make anyone a millionaire, but for those willing to bend EA's rules, it offers an easy profit alongside the far bigger money being made by the game's elite competitors and content creators.