High-profile streamers are the rock stars of the internet age. They use engaging personalities and entertaining content to keep millions of viewers hooked on their streams. That benefits them and their careers, as well as the platforms they appear on.
Platforms receive a percentage of every subscription a streamer has, but their main source of income is being paid to broadcast ads on streams. The more viewers a streamer has, the more these ads will be seen and the more money they will generate. High-profile streamers also increase traffic on a platform and make it seem like a destination place for others to follow.
Because of that, high-profile streamers are a valuable asset to major platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Kick, who need to compete with each other to sign them, resulting in lucrative contracts worth millions.
As someone who has covered streamers for years, I have seen a number of them receive mind-blowing contracts. The value of these contracts is only getting bigger now that there are more platforms. Note, some are estimates since exact figures are yet to be confirmed.
10. Pokimane
Pokimane re-signed with Twitch in Feb. 2022. The details of the contract weren’t disclosed, including how much it was worth, but given she has been one of the pillars of the platform and earned around $1.5 million from 2019 to 2021 according to leaked data, Twitch would have likely offered her several million.
9. Valkyrae
Valkyrae left Twitch for YouTube in Jan. 2020 and re-signed with the Google-owned platform two years later Jan. 2022 for an undisclosed amount. The streaming star has played a pivotal role in helping YouTube compete with Twitch. She has amassed four million subscribers in that. My best guess is she received a similar amount in payment.
8. Sykkuno
Sykkuno signed a deal with YouTube in May 2022. The exact amount he received was never revealed, but fellow streamer KristoferYee claims he knows the number and described it as “absolutely ridiculous.” Given his popularity, I estimate it to be worth around $5 million.
7. TimTheTatman
TimTheTatman signed an exclusive contract with YouTube Gaming towards the end of 2021. At the time, he was one of the ten highest-earning streamers on Twitch and earned around $3.3 million in the two years prior to his move, so I estimate his contract to be worth at least $5 million, if not a little higher again.
6. Ludwig
Ludwig turned heads when signed what was believed to be a massive deal with YouTube in Nov. 2021. The wise-cracking star earned even more than TimTheTatman during his stint on Twitch, so I’m confident his contract with YouTube is worth about the same if not a smidge more than the CoD entertainer.
5. Shroud
Shroud shocked the world after signing what was believed to be a $10 million contract with Mixer in Oct. 2019. This number was reported by journalist Rod Breslau in June 2020 after Mixer shut down.
4. Ninja
Like Shroud, Ninja also signed a lucrative contract with Mixer in 2019. The deal was reportedly worth even more though—a whopping $30 million, according to inside information. This was the most lucrative contract ever signed by a streamer at the time, but it has since been toppled.
3. Amouranth
Kick ramped up its efforts to cement its place as a top destination by signing Amouranth—the most popular female streamer on Twitch—for an undisclosed amount in June 2023. Given how much money the platform has thrown at other stars, some speculate the contract could be worth around $30 million. I think that figure isn’t too far off the mark, either.
2. Adin Ross
Adin Ross signed a deal with Kick in Feb. 2023 that some sources claimed was worth around $150 million. Adin Ross and Trainwreck debunked these claims on stream shortly after. They didn’t reveal the actual amount, but I estimate it to be somewhere around $30 million to $50 million.
1. xQc
xQc signed the most lucrative contract ever signed by a streamer in June 2023 after inking a $100 million non-exclusive two-year deal with Kick. A small portion of it may be in equity, per comments made by the streaming star, but even so, no other contract comes close. It puts him right up there with some of the highest-paid athletes in 2023.
