Jerry Jones Wants in on This Whole eSports Thing, Buys compLexity Gaming

If you're an old-school football fan who's never touched a joystick, you probably look at professional gaming with a confused, scrunched-up face. But there's at least one football fan in Dallas who's in the know, and he owns the Dallas Cowboys.

Jerry Jones and John Goff, the founder of Goff Capital and co-founder of Crescent Real Estate Equities, staked their claim in the lucrative world of competitive video gaming, also known as eSports, by purchasing the compLexity Gaming team brand, according to a YouTube video released by compLexity Gaming.

The announcement doesn't reveal how much Jones and Goff paid to acquire the eSports brand, which was founded in 2002 in Buckhead, Georgia. Since then, compLexity Gaming has earned more than $2.5 million in Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, Dota 2 and League of Legends tournaments, according to eSportsEarnings.com. CompLexity has teams and e-athletes competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft and Gwent leagues.

The deal means compLexity's headquarters and main training facility will be relocated to the The Star in Frisco, where the Cowboys train. Construction has started on an operations center for compLexity's staff and players that will include "offices, production studios and industry-leading training facilities," according to compLexity.


"The growth in professional gaming is incredibly significant," Jones said in the press release announcing the acquisition. "We are proud to be stepping into this space with John Goff and an industry icon in [compLexity founder] Jason Lake. Between our stadiums, our personnel and our experience and knowledge of professional sports, the synergies here are endless, and I'm confident our resources will continue the growth of compLexity for years to come."

Lake also released a statement describing the partnership with Jones and Goff as a dream come true.

"I'm thrilled and honored beyond words to be working with the Jones and Goff families," Lake said. "Everyone at compLexity is eager to relocate to the great state of Texas and continue building our gaming legacy alongside such unparalleled partners."

CompLexity is just the latest major team to announce a move to the Dallas area. Chicago-based OpTic Gaming, which recently won the Call of Duty World League tournament in Orlando, Florida, announced in August that it's moving its headquarters to the Dallas area. Team EnVyUs is also moving here, thanks to a multimillion-dollar investment from Hersh Family Investments, fronted by oil and natural gas magnate Kenneth Hersh. Team EnVyUs plans to start a team for the new Overwatch League called the Dallas Fuel.

Jones isn't the first NFL owner to fork over a huge chunk of change for ownership opportunities in eSports. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft owns a Boston-based team in the Overwatch League, which will launch sometime next year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.