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

What Is Tyler “Ninja” Blevins’ Net Worth?

With a net worth of $50 million, Tyler Blevins, known as “Ninja,” is a prominent American internet personality and gamer. He gained immense popularity by playing “Fortnite,” boasting over 24 million subscribers and 2.5 billion views on YouTube, along with 18.5 million followers on Twitch. Through subscriptions priced at $5 each month, he frequently earns between $500,000 and $1 million monthly from gaming.

In June 2018, Ninja entered into a partnership with Red Bull Esports, and later that September, he made history as the first Esports player to appear on the cover of “ESPN The Magazine.”

On August 1, 2019, Blevins shared his decision to leave Twitch for Mixer, a platform owned by Microsoft; at that time, “Ninja” was the most-followed active channel on Twitch. After Microsoft closed Mixer, he returned to Twitch, receiving a substantial compensation for his transition… more details on this deal will follow.

Early Life

Richard Tyler Blevins, born on June 5, 1991, in Detroit, Michigan, spent his childhood in Grayslake, Illinois. He was raised by his mother, Cynthia, his father, Chuck, and his older brothers, John and Chris. Both parents have Welsh ancestry, and Chuck introduced Tyler to video games early on. During his time at Grayslake Central High School, Blevins was active in soccer and worked at Noodles & Company. He started participating in video game tournaments, joined professional gaming organizations, and began live-streaming his gameplay while attending Silver Lake College in Wisconsin.

Career

Blevins embarked on his professional gaming journey in 2009, starting with “Halo 3.” He played for teams like Team Liquid, Cloud9, and Renegades, and began streaming in 2011, featuring games like “H1Z1” and “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (“PUBG”). In 2017, he joined Luminosity Gaming, competing in “Halo,” “H1Z1,” and “PUBG,” eventually winning the “PUBG” Gamescom Invitational Squads classification that same year. Ninja’s fame skyrocketed when he started playing “Fortnite Battle Royale,” during which he gained 1.5 million followers on Twitch from September 2017 to March 2018. His collaboration with Drake, Travis Scott, and Juju Smith-Schuster in March 2018 drew in 635,000 live viewers, setting a record for the largest simultaneous audience on an individual Twitch stream. This success prompted Epic Games to pair gamers with celebrities at E3 2018, where Ninja and electronic musician Marshmello won the “Fortnite Battle Royale” event. Later in April 2018, Ninja set a new Twitch record with 667,000 viewers tuning in for Ninja Vegas 2018.

In 2018, Tyler collaborated with Red Bull Esports to host the Red Bull Rise Till Dawn “Fortnite” event in Chicago. Ninja estimated his earnings to be nearly $10 million that year, and in 2020, Epic Games acknowledged his contribution to “Fortnite’s” popularity by adding a Ninja-themed cosmetic skin to the game. As reported by Reuters, Electronic Arts compensated Blevins with $1 million for promoting the battle royale game “Apex Legends” in 2019. After leaving Twitch in August 2019 to stream exclusively on Mixer, he shifted to his YouTube channel once Mixer shut down in July 2020. By early 2020, it was reported that he was earning over $500,000 each month from his “Fortnite” streams.

In 2015, Tyler and his family participated in “Family Feud,” and in 2019, they competed on “Celebrity Family Feud.” He released the album “Ninjawerks: Vol. 1” in 2018, featuring tracks by electronic artists such as Alesso, Tycho, and Nero, under the Astralwerks record label. Additionally, Ninja made an appearance in the NFL’s “The 100-Year Game” commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, and in August of that year, he published the book “Get Good:

“My Ultimate Guide to Gaming.” In 2019, he participated in Fox’s “The Masked Singer,” where he performed “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and “Whip It” by Devo while dressed in an ice cream cone costume; he was eliminated in the second season premiere, following figure skater Johnny Weir.

In April 2023, it was announced that Ninja would be joining GameSquare as Chief Innovation Officer, aimed at transforming the esports gaming landscape. GameSquare Esports Inc. plans to merge with Engine Gaming and Media to become the largest and most influential esports and media company in the industry.

Microsoft Deal/Payout

As mentioned earlier, in August 2019, Tyler surprised the gaming community by revealing a deal with Microsoft to exclusively stream on Mixer. Two months later, fellow esports star Shroud joined Ninja on Mixer.

In June 2020, Microsoft announced it was closing Mixer, integrating the platform into Facebook Gaming. Facebook allegedly offered both Ninja and Shroud double their previous earnings from Microsoft to come on board. However, they declined the offer. Consequently, Microsoft had to activate a buyout clause, resulting in Ninja receiving approximately $30 million and Shroud $10 million to exit. In August 2020, both returned to Twitch. After two years back on Twitch, Ninja announced a break from streaming but later revealed his return in September 2022, to stream concurrently on multiple platforms, including Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook.

Combining the buyout and the earnings from the year of the Mixer deal, Ninja is estimated to have made $40 million from Microsoft.

Controversies

Blevins has stated his choice to avoid streaming with female gamers is to protect his marriage from speculation. In 2016, he was suspended from Twitch for 48 hours after he disclosed the address of a donor who had sent a racist donation message and screen name. Additionally, in 2018, Ninja unintentionally used a racial slur while rapping along to Logic’s “44 More” during a stream; he later apologized, clarifying that he did not intend to use that particular word.

Personal Life

Tyler met fellow gamer Jessica Goch at a “Halo” tournament in 2010, and they began dating in 2013. The couple tied the knot in August 2017 and enjoyed their honeymoon in the Caribbean. Goch, now recognized as Jess Blevins, has served as Ninja’s manager and is also a popular streamer, boasting over 224,000 subscribers on YouTube 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 dedicated to charitable efforts and raised more than $110,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention during a charity stream in 2018. While participating in an April 2018 “Fortnite Battle Royale” Esports event, he donated $2,500 to the Alzheimer’s Association for each victory he achieved. That same month, Ninja contributed to raising $340,000 at the #Clips4Kids event and donated $1 million to charity afterTyler and Jess donated $150,000 to Feeding America during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, following Tyler’s victory in the “Fortnite” Pro-Am event in 2018.

Awards and Honors

Blevins secured the Gaming and Live Streamer awards at the Streamy Awards in 2018, earning the title of Esports Personality of the Year at the Esports Awards and Content Creator of the Year at The Game Awards in the same year. In 2019, he repeated his win as the Live Streamer and was recognized as Twitch Streamer of the Year at the Shorty Awards. Additionally, “Time” magazine honored Ninja by including him in their list of the world’s 100 most influential people in 2018.

Real Estate

Ninja and Jess acquired a 6,700-square-foot mansion in the suburbs of Chicago in 2018, which features 5 bedrooms, a game room, and a theater.