Adin Ross is one of the hottest tickets in online streaming, reportedly closing in on a $100 million, two-year deal in Rumble. If true, that would be one of the biggest deals on the up-and-coming video platform and another salvo in Rumble’s quest to give players like Twitch and Kick a run for their money.
Well, Adin Ross’s climb to the top of the streaming world has been quite remarkable. He started streaming on Twitch, where he played games like NBA 2K and Grand Theft Auto V, got followers through his brazen personality, and began posting unpredictable content. Soon after, he shifted to a format that focused on celebrity guests.
But in early 2023, his relationship with Twitch turned sour when he was banned indefinitely for what the platform called “hateful conduct.” Ahead of the ban, Ross said he was warned by a Twitch executive that he would be indefinitely suspended unless he changed his content. Ross saw this as an attempt to control his stream style and pushed back, leading to a row that ended his time on the site.
After Twitch, Ross signed the monumental deal with Kick, a coming-of-age rival in the streaming world. He described the deal as the “biggest streaming deal of any creator,” reportedly earning $40.000 an hour during his time there. Yet, Ross’s relationship with Kick began to deteriorate. He expressed his opinions on what he considered a lapse in the platform’s moderation policies. To this day, there’s no better example than when he live-streamed with Donald Trump, which was one of the wildest moments that he had ever experienced over the internet.
Offensive content was showing up in chats and, seemingly, with minimal accountability by Kick leadership. He was frustrated over these, and his complaints were largely ignored. To add some drama to the mix, Ross unfollowed Kick CEO Ed Craven on social media, perhaps hinting that he was breaking ties with the platform. He later cleared his profiles of all Kick mentions, indicating he was leaving.
When Ross very publicly confronted Craven, demanding that he do something to sort out the problems that had afflicted the site, things came to a head. When those overtures were met with silence, it seemed fairly apparent that Ross was open to other options. In stepped Rumble. Positioning itself as a bastion of free speech and independence for creators, Rumble has been aggressively recruiting prominent streamers to grow its clout. Landing such talent as Ross would be considered a huge coup for the platform and a signal to competitors that it is serious about reshaping the streaming ecosystem.
A reported $100 million deal would skyrocket Ross to the status of one of the most highly paid streamers ever and create a landmark for what can be achieved by content creators in this field. In the case of Rumble, on the other hand, this is a bold gamble. Adding Ross to their fold does not stop at a numerical addition. Still, it seems to be a well-calculated move aimed at winning audiences and challenging the monopoly of more established platforms.
To Adin Ross, this newest move has represented a chapter in his career of constant reinvention and resilience. From his earliest days on Twitch through his time on Kick and maybe now to Rumble, he knows how to adapt and thrive in even the most controversial circumstances. This most recent deal cements his status as the king of the streamers, but it also speaks to a larger shift in how platforms fight for talent. Such a move would mark a turning point for streaming in its entirety.
Sites such as Twitch, Kick, and Rumble are in a brutal fight for relevance. Creatives like Ross are at the heart of where audiences will go and will be on the front lines of whether this deal goes through and inspire other streamers to cash in on better financial terms and creative freedom offered by other platforms.
