Over the past ten years, several traditional sports owners saw the writing on the wall about e-sports and invested big.

While enthusiasm and excitement over e-sports continues to rise to a fever pitch, profits are not materializing as fast as many expected.

E-sports have become a massive international spectacle, and for many traditional sports investors, it was a no-brainer to jump onto the gaming trend of the future.

But profits have not followed enthusiasm. Some sports owners have lost interest in their investments after it became clear that the typical sports money-makers (such as building fan bases in specific cities and making deals with television networks) don’t apply to e-sports. Sports like basketball and football earn their owners billions of dollars annually through broadcast deals, but many e-sports tournaments are streamed online for free.

Many leagues haven’t earned much if any, profit at all on their owner’s investments.

But not everyone is giving up. Gaming execs are cautioning patient investors. And Kirk Lacob, son of Joe Lacob (owner of the Golden State Warriors), believes in the industry but wants to see results. “I really believe that where there are eyeballs, where there’s usage, there’s eventually revenue,” he explains.

Where broadcast deals aren’t possible, sponsorship deals are still to be made – and those can bring in the big bucks.