Tyler “Ninja” Blevins Net Worth (Money & Salary)

What is Tyler “Ninja” Blevins’ Net Worth?

Known as “Ninja,” Tyler Blevins is an American gamer and internet personality with a staggering net worth of $50 million. He gained fame primarily from playing “Fortnite” and has garnered over 24 million subscribers and 2.5 billion views on YouTube, in addition to 18.5 million followers on Twitch. With a subscription fee of $5 per month, his monthly earnings typically range from $500,000 to $1 million through gaming.

In June 2018, he entered into a partnership with Red Bull Esports, and by September of that year, he was the first Esports player to appear on the cover of “ESPN The Magazine.”

On August 1, 2019, Blevins made the announcement of his departure from Twitch in favor of the Microsoft-owned Mixer platform; at that time, “Ninja” held the record for Twitch’s most-followed active channel. He eventually returned to Twitch after Mixer was closed by Microsoft, receiving a considerable sum for his efforts… more details on this deal in the paragraphs to follow.

Early Life

Born as Richard Tyler Blevins on June 5, 1991, in Detroit, Michigan, Tyler grew up in Grayslake, Illinois. He was raised alongside his mother Cynthia, father Chuck, and older brothers John and Chris. Both of his parents are of Welsh descent, and his father introduced him to video gaming at an early age. During his time at Grayslake Central High School, Tyler played soccer and worked at Noodles & Company. While attending Silver Lake College in Wisconsin, he began to enter competitive gaming tournaments, joined professional gaming organizations, and live-streamed his gameplay.

Career

Tyler commenced his professional gaming career in 2009 with “Halo 3.” He represented organizations such as Team Liquid, Cloud9, and Renegades, starting his streaming journey in 2011 with games like “H1Z1” and “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (“PUBG”). In 2017, he joined Luminosity Gaming and played “Halo,” “H1Z1,” and “PUBG,” winning the “PUBG” Gamescom Invitational Squads classification later that year. With the rise of “Fortnite Battle Royale,” Ninja gained immense popularity on Twitch, accumulating 1.5 million followers between September 2017 and March 2018. His collaboration with Drake, Travis Scott, and Juju Smith-Schuster in March 2018 attracted 635,000 viewers in a live stream, establishing a record for the highest concurrent audience on a single Twitch stream. This success prompted Epic Games to team famous gamers with celebrities during E3 2018, leading Ninja and electronic musician Marshmello to victory in the “Fortnite Battle Royale” event. In April 2018, he broke his own Twitch record when 667,000 viewers watched him during Ninja Vegas 2018.

In 2018, Tyler partnered with Red Bull Esports to host the Red Bull Rise Till Dawn “Fortnite” event in Chicago. He estimated his earnings to be nearly $10 million for that year, and in 2020, Epic Games acknowledged his contribution to “Fortnite’s” success by introducing a Ninja cosmetic skin into the game. Reports from Reuters stated that Electronic Arts paid Blevins $1 million for advertising the battle royale game “Apex Legends” in 2019. After leaving Twitch in August 2019, he began streaming exclusively on Mixer; following the shutdown of Mixer in July 2020, he shifted to streaming on his YouTube channel. By early 2020, it was reported that he was making more than $500,000 per month from his “Fortnite” streams.

In 2015, Tyler and his family participated in “Family Feud,” and they also took part in “Celebrity Family Feud” in 2019. He released an album titled “Ninjawerks: Vol. 1” in 2018, which featured tracks by various electronic musicians like Alesso, Tycho, and Nero under the Astralwerks record label. Additionally, in 2019, Ninja featured in the NFL’s ad “The 100-Year Game” that aired during the Super Bowl, and in August that same year, he published the book “Get Good:”

My Ultimate Guide to Gaming.” Participating in Fox’s “The Masked Singer” in 2019, he performed Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” and Devo’s “Whip It” while dressed as an ice cream cone. He was the second contestant eliminated during the premiere of the second season, following figure skater Johnny Weir.

In April 2023, it was revealed that Ninja would be joining GameSquare as the Chief Innovation Officer, with the aim of transforming the esports gaming landscape. GameSquare Esports Inc. plans to merge with Engine Gaming and Media to establish itself as the largest and most influential esports and media entity in the industry.

Microsoft Deal/Payout

As previously mentioned, in August 2019, Tyler shocked the gaming community by announcing his exclusive streaming agreement with Microsoft, transitioning all of his activities to Mixer. Shortly after, fellow esports icon Shroud joined Ninja on Mixer.

In June 2020, Microsoft declared that it would shut down Mixer and integrate the platform into Facebook Gaming. Reports indicated that Facebook offered Ninja and Shroud twice the amount they were earning with Microsoft to join them. Both declined the offer. Consequently, Microsoft had to activate a buyout clause, resulting in Ninja receiving approximately $30 million while Shroud collected $10 million to step back. In August 2020, both returned to Twitch. After two years back on Twitch, Ninja announced a streaming hiatus but revealed in September 2022 that he would be streaming on all platforms simultaneously, including Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook.

It is believed that Ninja earned a total of $40 million from Microsoft, combining the buyout and his earnings during his one-year contract with Mixer.

Controversies

Blevins has stated that he avoids streaming with female gamers to safeguard his marriage from speculation. In 2016, he faced a 48-hour suspension from Twitch after revealing the address of a donor who left a racist donation message and username. In 2018, during a stream, Ninja used a racial slur while rapping to Logic’s “44 More”; he later apologized, clarifying that the word was not intended.

Personal Life

Tyler met Jessica Goch, a fellow gamer, at a “Halo” tournament in 2010, and their relationship began in 2013. They wed in August 2017 and enjoyed their honeymoon in the Caribbean. Goch, now known as Jess Blevins, served as Ninja’s manager and is also a well-known streamer, boasting over 224,000 YouTube subscribers and 500,000 followers on Twitch.

In October 2022, Jessica announced her decision to step down as Ninja’s manager to explore new opportunities.

Charity Work

Tyler is deeply committed to charitable endeavors, raising over $110,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention during a 2018 charity stream. While participating in an April 2018 “Fortnite Battle Royale” Esports event, he donated $2,500 to the Alzheimer’s Association for each game he won. Additionally, that month, Ninja contributed to raising $340,000 at the #Clips4Kids event and donated $1 million to charity afterwards.In 2018, Tyler won the “Fortnite” Pro-Am event, and during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, he and Jess contributed $150,000 to Feeding America.

Awards and Honors

Blevins received accolades in 2018, winning both the Gaming and Live Streamer awards at the Streamy Awards, alongside being recognized as Esports Personality of the Year at the Esports Awards and Content Creator of the Year at The Game Awards. In 2019, he again captured the Live Streamer award and was honored as Twitch Streamer of the Year at the Shorty Awards. Furthermore, “Time” magazine listed Ninja among the world’s 100 most influential people in 2018.

Real Estate

Ninja and Jess became homeowners in 2018, acquiring a 6,700-square-foot mansion located in the suburbs of Chicago. This residence features five bedrooms, a game room, and a theater.