T1 CEO Joe Marsh did an AMA on FMKorea that calls into question Zeus’ player agency and the way in which their contract renewal fell through.
Considering just how controversial and murky the details around T1 failing to re-sign Zeus are, it should come as no surprise that most of the questions directed toward Joe Marsh were about this roster move.
And, though we got his side of the story, this leaves a lot more questions than answers in terms of why Zeus didn’t re-sign and whether or not his agent purposely obscured the player’s path to remain with the team after their Worlds 2024 win.
Zeus’ agency has responded as well, but discrepancies between their statement and Marsh’s account of the events have only raised more questions.
T1 CEO alleges Zeus’ agent lied about contract negotiations
The AMA opened with Joe Marsh claiming this would be the first and last time he spoke on Zeus’ departure, saying this about his time with T1 as a whole:
“Zeus was an integral part of our journey alongside Oner, Faker, Gumayusi, and Keria, helping restore T1 to its former glory. We are forever grateful for his contributions to the organization. Zeus made a decision he felt was best for him, and we fully respect his choice. We wish him nothing but success in his future endeavors.”
After that, however, criticism toward The Play and how they handled Zeus in the off-season began. Marsh claimed that T1 wasn’t given a single counter-offer to any of the proposals they put forth for the player, but only that they denied the offers outright without negotiation.
Marsh even threw in a tongue-in-cheek response to the question of how much Zeus is getting paid, saying, “You’d have to ask Zeus… or better yet, try his agent—if you can actually get him on the table!”
After that, he was willing to get into some light details about how the offer went down, saying that the deadline of November 19 for the contract was one imposed by the agency.
“It would not be appropriate for me to disclose the specific details of Zeus’s offer from T1. What I can share is that we aimed to give each of our players the top salary in their respective position. With this goal as our foundation, we negotiated with all the players’ agents – including Zeus’s. Throughout the process, however, Zeus’s agent did not provide us with a single counterproposal.
“When he (the agent) visited our office on Friday, he openly stated that he ‘had nothing to say,’ which struck us as unusual for someone whose role is to negotiate contracts. After signing the three players, we even submitted an additional proposal—despite knowing that rule number one of negotiations is not to keep presenting offers without a response.
“Yet again, there was no counterproposal or clear communication from the agent. Nonetheless, in keeping with the aforementioned aim, we were willing to match any offer for Zeus. If the agent had communicated his client’s specific desires from the beginning, this process could have been much smoother,” he explained.
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In another question that pressed even further on this topic, Marsh had the following to add.
“The agent imposed an artificial ‘deadline,’ claiming it was set by HLE. However, after Zeus made his decision to leave, we spoke with HLE, and they confirmed that no such deadline was ever established.
“In my opinion, someone is not being truthful in this situation. Having worked with HLE for many years, I trust their word regarding what was said. It’s disheartening that such tactics played a role in the process, as we believed Zeus deserved transparency and fairness in making such an important decision about his future.”
Marsh also claimed that T1 would have matched “any offer” that was given by HLE or any other organization, with some rumors floating around that Zeus went as far as giving a verbal agreement with LPL organizations before backing out of them.
“From T1’s perspective, there was no conflict with Zeus during the contract process. Our frustration lies with how his agent handled the negotiations.
“Despite our multiple proposals, the agent never responded with a counteroffer. When the agent visited our office in person, we anticipated he would bring a counterproposal to facilitate a dialogue. Instead, he said he had nothing to say, which struck us as odd,” Marsh explained.
“Even if their counter had been something unattainable, like 4 billion KRW (the entire SFR), it would have at least allowed for a discussion,” For reference, SFR stands for Sporting Financial Regulations. Marsh is essentially saying he would have been willing to offer as much as is officially allowed by the LCK to keep this player.
He continued, “The agent had assured us that he and Zeus would visit T1 HQ between 10 a.m. and noon to finalize a deal. However, they never arrived. At that point, Josh and Becker made the decision to drive out to meet and negotiate with Zeus and his agent in person – to no avail.”
So, by his account, T1 and everyone there took every measure they could to keep Zeus, but his agent went back on his word. The Play have since responded, claiming that the deal falling through was on T1 and that they made various counteroffers to try to secure Zeus a good contract.
Marsh made it clear that his frustration in this process lies not with Zeus, but with the agency. He said T1 would be willing to welcome Zeus back at any time should he choose to re-join the team.
For more information, check out our full timeline on Zeus’ troubled transition from T1 to HLE.
