Following the termination of CEO Lee Trink, more information has surfaced around FaZe Clan and how its former head’s overzealous attitude towards spending helped push the company towards its current state.
Bloomberg’s Cecilia D’Anastasio released new findings today around the team’s most extravagant expenditures, outside of the diamond FaZe necklaces. For example, the team supposedly held an exclusive party at a San Diego nightclub to promote the brand and its members and hired popular rapper Travis Scott for a 15 minute performance, all of which cost about $1.7 million.
Although the team did make a good amount of revenue from a multitude of sources, like merchandise and other sponsorship deals, their expenses also quickly racked up as well. The team was renting a collection of luxury properties to serve as homes and filming sets for their various members.
Between rent, utilities, and security, these properties cost almost $60,000 a month, including one home that some FaZe members claim was previously owned by megastar Justin Bieber. According to a company filing found by D’Anastasio, FaZe’s 2022 lease expenses increased by 71 percent to $1.54 million.
Contracts were another massive source of spending for the team, with popular content creator Nick “NICKMERCS” Kolcheff signing a reported three-year contract worth $500,000 a year. This contract was a source of drama among some FaZe members, including owner Nordan “Rain” Shat, who claims that NICKMERCS’ signing was “damage control” in response to the messy departure of former member Turner “Tfue” Tenney.
Ultimately, FaZe Clan reportedly accrued a debt that had doubled to around $70.8 million, continuing the company’s slide to infamy. The team also dealt with a plethora of different controversies that made it difficult to secure sponsors, including an alleged cryptocurrency scandal where FaZe members promoted the coin, only for it to lose all of its value shortly after.
FaZe Clan is currently on the verge of being delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange after its value plummeted to $0.22, which is lower than the required stock closing price minimum of $1.00 per share.
