The New York Yankees, one of the most recognizable sports teams in the world, are getting into the esports game.

The team recently announced a partnership with Vision Esports in which the Yankees will acquire  stakes in Echo Fox, Twin Galaxies and Vision Entertainment. According to the team’s press release, “The two organizations will create and manage an ‘ecosystem’ of esports properties.”

The most recognizable of those properties is Echo Fox. The esports franchise is owned by former-basketball all star Rick Fox and is a perennial face across the North American esports spectrum. Echo Fox has had teams in Gears of War 4, League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Super Smash Bros., Call of Duty and more. Though they haven’t always been the most successful teams, they have made quite the splash in the three short years since their inception. Plus, their League of Legends team is one of only a handful who are being invited back into the NA LCS new franchising system next year. 

The Yankees foray into the esports market is just one notch in a larger trend of traditional sports franchises investing into the budding world of esports. Rick Fox was one of the first big sports figures to take the leap, but since then a cascade of big names have followed suit. Shaq, Alex Rodriguez, Magic Johnson, Jimmy Rollins, the owners of the New England Patriots, Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings and more have all invested into esports in the last couple years.

It isn’t just monetary investments from the traditional sports world that are making waves though, many sports stars are becoming outspoken advocates of their favorite games and leagues. Boston Celtics superstar Gordon Hayward recently appeared on an LCS broadcast and is quite invested in League of Legends in general. He’s reportedly reached as high as Diamond and routinely streams his matches on twitch (gdhayward, if you’re interested).

Hayward is only one of many athletes who are active in various esports. As traditional sports teams, players and organizations become more and more ingratiated with the new kid on the block, esports will undoubtedly continue to skyrocket in popularity. For those investing directly, there’s nothing more they could ask for. Their investments are fueling attention, which in turn is raising the value of esports, which is increasing their investments.   

As far as the Yankees-Vision deal is concerned, the exact stipulations were not disclosed, but as the second most valuable team in all of sports (worth an estimated $3.7 billion), it was surely little more than drop in the bucket for them.