NiKo buyout is the highest in CS: GO history with $500,000

Not only he’s considered one of, if not the, best individual Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player in the world right now, but he’s now also the most expensive. When FaZe Clan signed the buyout of Nikola “NiKo” Kovac yesterday, a new record had been set.

NiKo’s transfer fee from mousesports to FaZe was worth around $500,000, sources claimed. The buyout beats the previous record, when Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom transferred from Gamers2 (now G2 Esports) to Titan in Sept. 2015. Despite NiKo’s incredible efforts and performance over the last two years with his team, mousesports wasn’t able to consistently compete among the top teams in the world, so it makes sense for him to leave.

Before the actual transfer, the deal was even reported to possibly extend into the $1 million range. Confronted with this figure after the transaction, FaZe Clan felt the need to address concerns over inflated numbers. It’s good to hear that esports organizations are aware of the destructive potential of inflated numbers. However, NiKo’s buyout is sure to raise the bar for future transfers.