Since the inception of Nouns Esports, I and a few other contributors have always put forward proposals on behalf of the players so they could focus on competing at the highest level. That’s a structure similar to the traditional esports model, where we act as “agents” between the DAO and the team. But in the last six months, we switched gears and asked every roster, starting with the FE team, to submit their own proposals directly to Nouns. This way, they can prove they have the Nounish competency needed to be genuine ambassadors rather than just wearing the jersey. It also opens up a more “à la carte” decision-making process for the DAO and hopefully inspires more gamers to propose onchain.

I want to add context from my years working in esports and make a strong case for any future CS proposals. Nouns has already made real strides in Counter-Strike: recently under Coach AdreN, a Grand Slam winner respected across the scene, and longtime Nouns contributor Mach, who has been supporting Nouns Esports since we started. The men’s team competes at top-tier international events, where salaries follow a traditional sports model. AdreN worked with players’ agents to settle on rates of $2.5K–$4.5K per month, which is still below many other sponsored NA squads. Sponsoring a team of this caliber means they can reach millions of viewers and potentially place ⌐◨-◨ stickers in the game if they qualify for a Major, an achievement that could bring substantial revenue through in-game sales.

Meanwhile, the women’s team faces a far smaller sponsorship pool and set their own requested rates in this proposal. Without Nouns, it’s likely they would remain unsponsored. With top female orgs folding, having Nouns behind them places them near the top of their scene in terms of stability and visibility, even with a smaller audience. Players like Lunari and Jess have changed the meta of what it means to represent Nouns in esports, demonstrating it’s possible to compete at a high level and remain deeply involved with the DAO, opening a new path for us within gaming.

While the men’s and women’s teams aren’t apples to apples, both can serve the DAO in different but meaningful ways. Because of how this vote is going, many in the CS community worry we’ll exit altogether. Most of them can’t simply buy a Noun to show support, so they’ve stepped up in other ways: coverage by the top NA CS publication (https://www.dust2.us/news/56771/nouns-cs2-budget-vote-appears-likely-to-fail), a 2,500 zero-weight vote poll (https://x.com/nounsesports/status/1876751250307354807), and comments on social media (https://x.com/nounsesports/status/1875686183357022333).

We’ve already enshrined Nouns in Dota, and there’s a parallel opportunity in CS if we stay committed a bit longer. Partnerships with brands like adidas and Matcha often stem from our presence in top-tier esports, and continuing to support both teams can help us proliferate Nouns in one of the world’s largest competitive gaming scenes.

Nouns has already invested too much in esports. Sure, it brought some exposure in the past, but looking at the ROI, it just doesn't make sense.

At this stage, with the Nouns treasury running low, we should invest in innovations that can really help Nouns move into its next phase.

⌐◨-◨

Yeah, this. I WANT to be excited about this prop, but honestly the men's team just... doesn't excite me. It's not solely about their lack of active involvement in the greater nouns ecosystem either (though that is a part of it- I find it hard to believe someone can speak about Nouns to an audience if they aren't involved) it's also because, as others have mentioned, men's CS is pretty saturated with big names already.

The salary disparity between the men's and women's teams also rubs me the wrong way.

I AM excited by what the Nouns FE team is doing. They're great players, but arguably more importantly, they put in the work to get involved and talk about Nouns not just as a method of funding esports, but as a project that aims to make the world better. The conversations about Nouns you could hear on the tournament streams and in chat speak for themselves- they're making an impact with potential builders.

I'd be in favor of a prop that focused solely on them, with an emphasis not only on competing, but in proliferation around the Nouns brand in the vein of content creation. I'd argue that has the best potential ROI as well.

This was a big swing, but it missed the mark. The budget is way too big, the sustainability plan feels more like wishful thinking, and honestly, it’s hard to find anything truly "Nounish" in here. Esports are cool, but this feels like throwing money into a crowded space without a clear way for the DAO to benefit. A smaller and more focused proposal, maybe just for nouns.fe, with clear ROI metrics and better community engagement? That might work. But right now? This isn’t it.

Votes from the Nouniverse ⌐◨-◨

Every $NOGS holder now has a voice in deciding how the NOGS pool of Nouns votes on each Nouns proposal.

Cast your vote on your Noggles Dashboard, earn more $NOGS and spread the ⌐◨-◨

FOR: 6.65M $NOGS
AGAINST: 961.87M $NOGS

227520 $NOGS have been shared among the voters.

+for female esports

I'd love to see a version of this prop that focuses only on the nounsfe team.

Agreed that Nouns should focus its effort on underfunded areas that aren’t covered well by existing sponsors. The ask is also very high when we fund quite a bit in the esports space already.

It's hard to say no to a team that's actually delivering, but I'm against this proposal as it is now. I definitely have mixed feelings about the current esports situation, seeing the core team passing huge proposals followed by other teams with equally big proposals. CS teams now and Pokémon Unite later? Of course, Nouns Esports has no obligation to keep maintaining all of them, and I do like the idea of the core team incubating other teams and them putting up their own proposals later, but I don't think the DAO has the resources this whole operation needs. Even though esports is delivering a ton, we're not an esports-only community, and we should save funds for other areas.

I would vote for a smaller proposal, maybe something around $200K, and in this case, I would suggest focusing on the female team. It's nounish, and I'd love to support the girls. That being said, thanks a lot for all the work done so far. Nouns Esports is killing it!

Supporting Jess, Lunari and the fe team. Would prefer a separate proposal.

FOR - 3 VOTES

AGAINST - 4 VOTES

• andrealomelin | "500k in salaries for 12 people doesn’t sound very Nounish to me"
• ok_lex_ | "Me parece que hay un intento por abarcar en demasiados aspectos. Creo que podría estar mucho más focalizada, buscando objetivos más específicos"

ABSTAINS - 10 VOTES

Supportive of nouns.fe but not this proposal as is 🍨

Too expensive for DAO current cash flow.

This may be a slightly different opinion to my vote in Nouncil. After reading more deeply and seeing some of the Nouners' comments, I feel that this proposition is indeed over budget in every way. Moreover, the male roasters from CS don't seem to be active in governance, I appreciate Lunari and Jesscas for their contribution in building Nouns FE last year. Maybe I will be able to accept if they make a different proposal and focus on developing women in Nounish Esports!

https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExcGh2dDlpN202NW9naHAzMjNsZjJjNzRqbWtjb3F4eW9oc2g4MmNyYyZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/znOVYU0jwkj8aXcc0N/giphy.gif

Against - Wins

FOR - 12 VOTES
AGAINST - 20 VOTES
ABSTAINS - 4 VOTES

I understand the desire to have a roster competing on one of the greatest stages in esports. If we had qualified for the Major (which we almost did), this would be an entirely different conversation. The path to sustainability within Counter-Strike is real and not entirely dependent on partnerships, thanks to the product-market fit and revenue from event sticker sales earned through qualifying for the Major. However, succeeding in Counter-Strike requires significant financial flexibility to acquire players, sell players, scout talent, or achieve exceptional results with a fair amount of luck also needed. When proposals are made without anyone willing to flex the budget for outsized opportunities, I believe our odds of success fall far below those of our peers in the space.

Additionally, I believe Nouns operates very differently compared to other organizations. Most esports teams do not have their decisions or investments governed by a DAO of non-endemic participants. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this; it’s just a unique approach. However, I don’t think the players fully understand that, to gain the favor of the DAO, they themselves must actively build relationships with voters. This dynamic is unlike anything they’ve experienced or even heard of before, and I don’t believe it has fully clicked for any of them yet.

Until this changes, I cannot support any version of a professional roster of players. At a bare minimum, we need more direct interaction and buy-in from the individuals we fund.

As for the women’s team, I don’t see a path to sustainability. While there are some content goals, I doubt they could come close to offsetting the $200,000 requested for salaries. Personally, I don’t believe women’s esports, in its current state, will achieve any kind of success justifying a budget of this size. It remains too niche to be considered professional.

Instead, I would prefer efforts focused on developing a "Nounish" brand that supports women and other marginalized communities within gaming.

agree with krel and shared the same feedback on weekly lil nouns calls with the team

FOR 16 VOTES

AGAINST 294 VOTES

lintcouncil.eth | "115"

ABSTAIN 0 VOTES

As mentioned with Proposal 698, we have concerns about the amount of funds already allocated to esports by the Dao. With the recent pivot to focus on Smash Bros, we’d like to see how that plays out before committing more funds to another esports project in 2025. The sustainability section doesn’t provide enough certainty.

That said, we’ve really enjoyed following the Nouns.fe team and watching them integrate seamlessly into the ecosystem. Our arms 'could be' twisted with a more concise and conservative proposal for that team.

Im into this but i dont think we have the financial means to support CS teams atm. My impression is that esports (eg DOTA, CS) that are relatively attractive for sponsorships in general are not a great angle for Nouns when it comes to making an impact in those communities. In comparison, I think eg Smash and what we do there has more of an 'impact ROI' and a bigger chance of making a lasting, longterm impact for fans of that specific game/subculture.

That said, I would be For supporting jesscas and lunari (and probably mach) in some way. I think that relationship is meaningful and worth spending on and caring for.

The proposal lacks a detailed financial breakdown and clear ROI metrics. While it aims to enhance Nouns DAO's presence in the esports scene, the financial impact and sustainability are not convincingly demonstrated. The proposal relies heavily on potential outcomes without concrete financial accountability or a clear return mechanism.

can't stomach an ask of ~20% yearly inflow when gg just got ~25% yearly inflow a month ago. Thats putting us at almost 50% of inflow to video games

not my cup of tea personally

While Edge City is excited about the team's vision, the sticker mark feels too large without clear ROI metrics and ecosystem impact. We'd love to support a more focused version with a smaller initial budget to further validate the sustainability thesis and a clearer path to ecosystem impact results.

FOR - 3 VOTES

AGAINST - 5 VOTES

borg00000 | "Do a women's only version imo is more interesting and this prop lacks the charm that nounsfe bring"

ABSTAINS - 3 VOTES

"Watch out. These boys have got a bit of an arsenal and they don't mind using it!"

Esports has done and will continue doing the most at building trust with non crypto native entrants. The cost is high but we're committed to capitalizing on the amazing opportunity we have in 2025 to make the project sustained.

In addition, we're committed to continuing to being one of the top onboarders to nouns at the auction level and community level.