CDL Salary Leak Exposes Massive Pay Gaps with Cellium Earns $850K
A leaked spreadsheet revealing all Call of Duty League (CDL) player salaries for 2026 has ignited discussions, partially verified by pros like Sabri “Lqgend” Kaci and Thomas “ZooMaa” Paparatto.
While unconfirmed officially, the data highlights stark disparities, league average at $181,500 annually, median $150,000, with Activision’s minimum at $59,000.
Top earner McArthur “Cellium” Jovel pulls $850,000 at Riyadh Falcons more than the entire payrolls of Carolina Royal Ravens ($250K), Cloud9 New York ($260K), and Vancouver Surge ($270K).
In case anybody missed it overnight, a full list of current CDL player salaries got leaked and have confirmed to be accurate.
Some of these numbers have absolutely sent my head. pic.twitter.com/Wz5hH8z3Xd
— Jacob Hale (@JakeHaleee) December 18, 2025
Highest paid players in the Call of Duty League:
1 – McArthur “Cellium” Jovel (Riyadh Falcons) — 850,000 $
2 – Thomas “Scrap” Ernst (Los Angeles Thieves) — 450,000 $
3 – Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez (Los Angeles Thieves) — 450,000 $
4 – Amer “Pred” Zulbeari (Riyadh Falcons) — 450,000 $
5 – Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro (OpTic Texas) — 425,000 $
6 – Chris “Simp” Lehr (FaZe Vegas) — 350,000 $
7 – Brandon “Dashy” Otell (OpTic Texas) — 350,000 $
8 – Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris (Los Angeles Thieves) — 300,000 $
9 – Zachary “Drazah” Jordan (FaZe Vegas) — 285,000 $
10 – Cuyler “Huke” Garland (OpTic Texas) — 280,000 $
Team Payroll Spotlights
The leaked CDL salaries spotlight extreme payroll disparities. Riyadh Falcons lead with $1.7M across four players, where star Cellium’s $850K eclipses teammate KiSMET’s by sixfold.
LA Thieves follow closely as heavy investors, boasting three top 10 earners like Scrap and HyDra for an $1.6M total.
In stark contrast, bottom feeders scrape by Carolina Royal Ravens at $250K, Cloud9 New York ($260K), Vancouver Surge ($270K), and G2 Minnesota ($300K). Carolina fields three of the league’s six lowest-paid at just $60K each barely above Activision’s $59K minimum underscoring financial instability in the revamped league.
CDL vs. Other Leagues
CDL lags behind Europe’s LEC, average $280,800 (€240K), median $198,900 (€170K) highlighting compensation gaps in FPS esports.
The leak underscores CDL’s uneven finances post revenue cuts, fueling debates on sustainability as the league kicks off its new season.
Since: October 29, 2025
