It’s safe to say L.A. rap legend Snoop Dog is a man of many trades, but he’s recently decided to step away from one venture. On March 29, he severed his partnership with FaZe Clan, an Esports company, shortly after the brand took a $7 million hit.
Snoop Dog first announced the partnership during the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show, where he donned a gold chain with the company’s logo on it. He then made an official declaration on social media:
“It only makes sense to partner with FaZe Clan as both a team member and on the Board of Directors,” Snoop Dog wrote. “The youth identifies with their brand, and that’s something my son Cordell knew, which is why he brought us together.”
When Snoop joined the company’s board, he was given $1.9 million in stock. Some $248,000 worth of stock was also given each to his son and companies controlled by his spouse and his manager. It won’t be until next year that the stock will reportedly vest. And when it does it will likely to be worth less than $1.9 million.
What is FaZe Clan
L.A.-based entertainment and esports platform FaZe was founded in 2010 as a YouTube channel by three players, Eric “CLipZ” Rivera, Jeff “House Cat” Emann (now known as “Timid”), and Ben “Resistance” Christensen. Today, the organization has esports players across multiple games, including Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, Halo Infinite, Valorant, Fortnite Battle Royale, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
FaZe makes money through esports winnings, revenue splits with its talent and brand partnerships with companies like McDonald’s and DoorDash.
In 2015, the group got an investment from Norwegian entrepreneur Sebastian Geurts’ social media platform Hubrick. The following year, FaZe Clan acquired European esports team G2 Esports’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive international lineup, By 2017, FaZe Clan was racking up championships, including ELeague CS:GO Premier, winning $500,000 in prize money. In December 2019, entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine and mobile e-commerce platform NTWRK led a series A funding round for FaZe. The next year, 2020, FaZe Clan received a $22.7 million investment loan from a private lender. That same year, FaZe Clan expanded its scope and became co-owners of food supplement company CTRL
In December 2020, FaZe Clan was worth $305 million.
In 2021 it merged with special purpose acquisition investors B. Riley Principal and became a public company with an initial valuation of about $1 billion. The company went public on July 20, 2022, however with a lower than announced valuation of $725 million.
FaZe Clan Lost its Steam
According to a Forbes report, the company’s stock dropped below $1 in January and Snoop was given more than 300,000 shares of FaZe stock, which was valued at $3.9 million.
“On March 29, 2023, Calvin ‘Snoop Dogg’ Broadus, Jr. notified FaZe Holdings Inc. that he is resigning from the Board of Directors of the Company effective immediately,” afiling with the SEC stated, “Mr. Broadus’s resignation was not the result of any disagreement with the Company or any of its subsidiaries.”
The FaZe Holdings Inc. Board of Directors will continue with nine members.
It’s important to note that Snoop wasn’t the only celebrity to have dealings with the FaZe Clan. Other high-profile celebs like Lil Yachty, NFL player Kyler Murray, LeBron James Jr., and Offset also cosigned the brand.
But the endorsements by Snoop and the other celebs didn’t help the company’s stock price.
On April 5 the stock price sold at $0.50 per share, much lower than its all-time high of $17 a share in September 2022. According to Forbes, the company was projected to go through its over $40 million cash on hand by the end of 2023.
