Snoop Dogg leaves FaZe Clan’s board of directors

The legendary rapper and media personality has left the board of the esports organization after its poor financial performance since going public.

The details:

• "On March 29th, 2023, Calvin 'Snoop Dogg' Broadus, Jr. notified FaZe Holdings Inc. that he is resigning from the Board of Directors of the company effective immediately," the company said in an SEC filing yesterday, before mentioning that it "was not the result of any disagreement with the Company or any of its subsidiaries." Snoop was revealed to have joined the board in March 2022, and during his one-year tenure, he remained active in the organization's social media content and even wore a FaZe necklace during his Super Bowl performance prior to his official announcement. Snoop said his son, Cordell Broadus, was the reason the deal happened in the first place.
• At the time of his signing, the rapper was said to own approximately 320,000 shares worth $3.9 million. According to Sportico, Snoop may have given up approximately 214,000 of them upon his departure, leaving him with approximately 106,000 shares that aren't worth nearly as much as they once were due to a 97.9% drop in value. Despite Snoop’s abrupt departure from the organization, the current CEO of FaZe Clan, Lee Trink, stated in a letter to stakeholders that he is "as optimistic as ever about the future of FaZe Clan" and that the company is "taking the right steps to position the business for successful long-term growth.”
• While the filing does not specify why Snoop has decided to leave the company, it is likely due to the company's poor financial performance since it went public in July 2022. Its stock price plummeted to an all-time low of $0.40 on March 20, with the company losing $53.2 million in the past year. This resulted in layoffs at FaZe a few months ago, and NASDAQ has threatened the company with a "deficiency notice," which means it will be delisted from the exchange if it fails to maintain a $1 value for ten consecutive days in the next 180 days. Given the state of the esports industry, economy as a whole, and internal struggles, it will be a miracle if FaZe manages to prove successful.

Other esports news:

• Counter Logic Gaming (CLG), as well as its League of Legends franchise spot, is rumored to have been sold to NRG Esports by its parent company, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSG). MSG has yet to comment on the situation, but reports of "seemingly all" of CLG's employees being laid off began circulating on April 4, implying that the company may cease operations in the near future.
• TSM recently laid off employees, "paused" its esports operations, and is looking to sell its LCS franchise spot. According to sources, the organization suffered a financial blow after its $210 million naming rights deal with crypto exchange FTX was terminated due to FTX's abrupt demise. The team is still interested in fielding a Counter-Strike roster in the future, most likely to capitalize on the upcoming Counter-Strike 2 release.