The New Economy

Parents may want to rethink telling their kids to turn off the video game and start studying if they have hopes of getting a job and making money.

Major League Gaming or MLG Pro has been sponsoring video game tournaments for the last few years. These tournaments are held around the country and attract thousands of spectators and participants. This past weekend they held a tournament in Columbus, Ohio which was expected to have about 12,000 spectators.

As the Columbus Dispatch notes:

Founded in 2002, Major League Gaming has 64 active pros, three or four of whom will make $100,000 in a year, Jantzen said. More will make between $50,000 and $80,000 a year and the rest, between $20,000 and $30,000.

Corporate America has woken up to the profit potential of all these kids playing video games. Major sponsors of both teams and the MLG tournaments include Doritos, Dr. Pepper, Old Spice deodorant, Hot Pockets sandwiches, Bic shavers, and more. In past years, major sponsors have included Microsoft and Boost Mobile cell service. Dr. Pepper is even sponsoring a $10,000 college scholarship for the best college player over the summer.

Oh, and by the way, the brothers Kyle and Aaron Elam, who are featured in the pictures from the Columbus Dispatch, are the Complementary Spouse's nephews. Their teams came in first and fourth respectively for the tournament.