From Streaming to the Court: Is Kai Cenat Leaving Twitch for Basketball?
Kai Cenat's streaming career may be coming to an end as the internet personality has announced plans to pursue a career as a professional athlete.
By D.M.Sept. 30 2024, Published 12:29 p.m. ET
Popular streamer and internet sensation Kai Cenat has hinted at ending his streaming career to pursue a passion that has been with him since childhood—basketball. Kai is arguably one of the biggest streamers around.
The New York native began his internet career by producing comedic skits on platforms like Instagram and YouTube. In 2021, Cenat took his talents to Twitch, where he found even greater success.
His lively, unscripted streams quickly gained traction, blending video games, personal stories, and spontaneous interactions with viewers. He has collaborated with well-known influencers, celebrities, and fellow streamers, creating content that bridges different entertainment genres.
His collaborations with popular figures like Lil Uzi Vert and others have helped boost his visibility.
Kai Cenat and Drake appear on Instagram
However, in a surprising turn of events, Kai has announced that he is stepping away from the streaming world. And while his fans may be shocked, Kai has explained that playing basketball is a lifelong dream that he has finally decided to pursue.
Kai Cenat wants to be a professional basketball player.
Kai Cenat’s potential move to basketball has raised questions about how serious he is about leaving his thriving streaming career behind. He first made the announcement following a September 22 stream, leaving fans stunned. “The gaming sh*t is cool, the streaming sh*t is cool. It's time to take it up a notch,” Kai said. “Chat, until further notice, I am quitting streaming, OK? I will no longer be streaming anymore.”
Moments later, the internet personality took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to double down on his decision.
"I'm quitting streaming and becoming a professional basketball player. Goodbye,” Kai tweeted. The streamer currently has more than six million followers, who tune in daily to watch him interact with fellow creators, and react to viral moments. Despite this, Kai’s comments about wanting to temporarily retire from streaming raised eyebrows.
Kai previously played in the 2024 NBA All-Star Celebrity game and his performance was met with mixed reviews. The streamer, who stands at 5’4, held his own but was the laughingstock of the competition.
"The man’s already 3-foot tall. You put him in a chair. Now he 1’5,” Shannon Sharpe said about Kai (via Essentially Sports).
Kai Cenat makes a decent living from streaming.
Kai Cenat’s decision to quit Twitch is surprising, considering he makes millions from the platforms. On Complex’s 360 series, Kai broke down the Twitch revenue game, which changes depending on the streamer.
"When it comes to money stuff, I don’t really like talking about it," Kai said. "But with Twitch, a sub—it's usually 50/50. Different people in the Twitch space got different splits. I’m not gon’ share mine, but it varies. A lot of other money comes from ads and all that extra stuff."
Twitch lets fans show love to their favorite streamers by subscribing to their channels, with the standard price set at $4.99 a month. Streamers usually keep around half of that.
Kai revealed he's sitting on about 81,000 subscribers, each dropping $5 a month. With those numbers, he's likely pulling in over $400,000 every month.
