As the father of a teenage son, I've learned a few things by osmosis about the amazing popularity of e-sports. On a weekend not long ago when the Rocket League championship game was being played, my son joined thousands of others around the planet in watching the match live. For the uninitiated, Rocket League is a video game in which three-person teams play soccer by driving remote-controlled cars around a field. (I'm sure that description will offend someone with its over-simplicity, but that's what it looks like to me.) And Rocket League is one of many such competitive gaming leagues.

So with that backdrop, this story from ESPN came into play. Citing anonymous sources, it describes one of the biggest acquisitions of an e-sports team in the growing industry's history — $35 million to move Team EnVyUs from Charlotte to Dallas for a spot in video-game maker Activision Blizzard's upcoming Overwatch League.

Kenneth Hersh

ESPN identified the buyer as none other than Kenneth Hersh, a Dallas oil and gas magnate and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. (His full résumé is here.) The ESPN story was quickly picked up by news sites such as Bloomberg, Sports Business Daily and Dot Sports.

Hersh was not immediately available Monday for comment.

E-sports is getting a lot of attention lately, even on Wall Street. Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson contends that the industry, "from a business model perspective, is exhibiting characteristics similar to traditional sports."

There's big money to be made in e-sports, which is still in its early stages. Olson predicts e-sports will generate $1 billion in revenue this year. By comparison, the NFL is expected to bring in $14 billion.

The Wall Street Journal reported on the Overwatch League's buy-in from billionaire sports team owner Stan Kroenke and his son Josh. Stan owns the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, and Josh is president of the NBA's Denver Nuggets. Stan also gained local fame — and international criticism — when he bought the fabled W.T. Waggoner Ranch in Texas.

The Overwatch League will require teams to pay players a minimum of $50,000 a year and provide health insurance, a retirement-savings plan, housing and a practice facility. The winning team is guaranteed at least $1 million in prize money.

For Hersh, who co-founded energy investment firm Natural Gas Partners, it's his second investment in e-sports, according to ESPN. Hersh was a minority investor in a $7 million funding round for a London-based e-sports team in the spring.

For those who like to follow the money, keep an eye the e-sports business. Dallas' enterprising sports team owners Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones also are looking to get into the game.