The New York Yankees have invested into Vision Esports, which owns three esports companies, including Echo Fox.
Vision Esports is the largest shareholder of Echo Fox, Twin Galaxies, and Vision Entertainment, will “create and manage an ecosystem” among them, according to a report from Forbes.
“The New York Yankees are thrilled to partner with Vision Esports and its diverse portfolio of esports companies,” Yankees co-chairperson Hal Steinbrenner said in a news release. “Guided by an impressively skilled and sports-savvy leadership team, Vision Esports is transcending the industry with a bold, innovative approach to their business, and we are excited to enter into this dynamic arena as their partner.”
According to the report, the management strategy of the Yankees and Vision will be similar to that of traditional sports properties. That includes maximizing revenue opportunities for advertising, sponsorships, media and broadcast rights, merchandise and ticket sales. The two entities will also focus on creating content designed for broadcast and streaming platforms. The size of the investment was not disclosed.
Echo Fox, owned by retired NBA player Rick Fox, fields teams in League of Legends, Vainglory, H1Z1, Call of Duty, Gears of War 4, and various fighting games. Twin Galaxies (which is owned by Echo Fox CEO Jace Hall) is a historic competitive video gaming platform founded in 1981, and Vision Entertainment is an esports content creator focused on non-scripted video productions in esports.
Echo Fox’s League of Legends team was reportedly accepted into the North American League of Legends Championship Series (NA LCS) for 2018, and the investment from the Yankees could be a large reason why.