Interview video time stamps and topics:

1:15: Hosts Colin, Kyle and Ryan chat about cs_summit and the LCS finals

6:53: CLG CEO Devin Nash joins the podcast

8:12: “We develop players mentally and physically” first

9:58: “I don’t believe in talent. I don’t think that talent exists.”

15:52: The success of G.O.A.Ts like Faker and Michael Jordan

20:11: How Nash went from reading 700 self-help books to being CEO of CLG

29:26: How theScore esports is like the birth of chaos in Warhammer 40k

32:30: On franchising the NA LCS

34:35: “Prices that are being thrown around in the LCS right now are insane”

37:28: “I don’t know if Overwatch has what it takes” to be a successful esport

40:39: Nash on the biggest mistake he made after taking over as CLG CEO

45:25: Why CLG fans matter, sending thank you cards to supporters

49:17: “I really do think we have the best fans in the world”

Franchising the NA LCS could help bring major outside investment into League of Legends, stabilize runaway player salaries and render Challenger Series essentially meaningless. That's according to Counter Logic Gaming CEO Devin Nash.

Nash Joined theScore esports Podcast Monday where, between talking about Blizzard's upcoming Overwatch league and why he thinks talent doesn't actually exist, he opened up about what a franchising model could mean for the future of League of Legends.

Last week, theScore esports reported that the NA LCS would be moving to a franchise model in 2018. According to sources familiar with the situation, teams that currently hold NA LCS spots, or that will hold them the split prior to franchising's implementation, are not guaranteed spots in the league for 2018.

Find theScore esports Podcast on iTunes.

Click or tap here to listen in on SoundCloud.

“Assuming it does happen, it’s a smart move for Riot to lead the charge on it. They’re probably best equipped to do it, out of any of the other publishers,” Nash told theScore esports Podcast.

While Nash could not confirm or deny a franchise model coming to the NA LCS, he did say it could usher in the kind of stability that would attract major outside investment.

“Obviously if relegation gets eliminated, then the value of teams goes up a lot," he said. "And so that’s interesting from a very macro perspective for CLG. I think that allows us to build out rate cards a lot easier to convince sponsors we’re going to be around.”

CLG, said Nash, is in a good position to capitalize on that interest.

“But I think that’s been less of a problem for us because we have that legacy of being six years and being in the LCS the entire time. There’s that confidence when I talk B-to-B that definitely another team doesn’t have, like an Echo Fox, where it’s like ‘I don’t know if you guys are going to be around.’ So all that gets normalized if this happens and it’s basically brand development from there.”

Among the big changes that would come with franchising is how teams would pull, scout and sign talent, and from where, he said.

“I think one thing that’s also not talked a lot about too is what happens to talent pools. Because right now collegiate is kind of like secondary to the Challenger scene. But in a situation where [franchising] actually happened, then Collegiate would be the primary way to source talent, which I think is awesome. And Challenger would almost disappear supposedly, because there’d be no way to the LCS right?”

A franchising model could right the ship in terms of player salaries as well, which Nash agreed are out of control and "completely baseless."

“I think the prices that are being thrown around in the LCS right now are insane,” he said. “I completely think that certain teams have lost their mind in terms of business sense. And that there’s absolutely no even long term ROI for the prices that are being paid, and they’re completely baseless.”

Big business interest, brought in by an enticingly stable franchised LCS model, could be the key to sorting out those insane financials, Nash told theScore esports Podcast.

“I still don’t think we’ve seen the really heavy hitters get in. Like really big sports teams at the top level or organizations that I think are still playing their cards and researching and learning about the space.There are some really heavy hitters that I think will come in that will help define the space and normalize that ROI.”

Then again, they might not.

“Even if franchising happens it doesn’t necessarily suggest salary caps. The whole structure of the league could still be chaos, especially given a publisher that maybe doesn’t have much experience running a league, I think you’re going to see those kind of issues run rampant in this situation for at least the first couple of years.”

Colin McNeil is a supervising editor for theScore esports. You can follow him on Twitter.