- Kraft Sports Group wants to acquire the 12th spot of the CoD League
- The spot was left vacant after OpTic and Envy’s merging last month
- No financial aspects of the deal or player names have yet been disclosed
Boston might soon host professional Call of Duty as a report says that the New England Patriots’ Kraft Sports Group is acquiring the 12th CDL team slot from OpTic and Envy.
Kraft Sports Group to Purchase a Spot in the CoD League
The Call of Duty League had a 12th slot open early last month, around the same time as OpTic Gaming and Envy merged. This sparked a lot of rumors by whom the slot is going to be filled, but those speculations have ended with a new report, showing the slot has finally found a suitor.
According to an article by Kevin Hitt in the Sports Business Journal, the Kraft Sports Group, New England Patriots owner, “are set to acquire a spot in the Call of Duty League.” When they do so, they will enter a partnership with Oxygen Esports in order to manage both the new CDL team and their existing Boston Uprising Overwatch League squad.
Kraft Sports Group is owned by Robert Kraft. As well as being the owner of the Patriots in the National Football League, the group has also acquired the Overwatch League’s Boston Uprising, purchasing their Overwatch League spot in 2017. These latest reports would indicate that the group wants to further expand its esports portfolio.
So far there is not much information surrounding the deal and no names of any players have been cited.
Rumors and Speculations around the 12th Spot
OpTic and Envy’s merger earlier in November left their spot in the Call of Duty League, which was held by NRG, open. Initial rumors spread that the Washington Justice ownership group would purchase the spot from NRG. Just a few weeks after these reports surfaced, talks between Washington and NRG reportedly fell through, which lead to Envy acquiring the rights to the spot after their merger with OpTic.
Now, according to the report from SBJ, Kraft Sports Group will be purchasing the spot. With the partnership KSG is entering in with Oxygen Esports, which will run the new CDL franchise and the OWL's Boston Uprising, there is a large chance the franchise could be moved to Boston. Oxygen Esports already has a substantial presence in the esports world. They own rosters in Rocket League, VALORANT, Halo Infinite, Rainbow Six Siege, and more.
With the CoD League moving into its third season fans speculated that it will commence with just 11 teams. If that deal goes through, this will mark yet another introduction of traditional sports into the space.
