Things have gone from bad to worse for esports and lifestyle brand FaZe Clan, which went public on the NASDAQ (opens in new tab) last July; according to Dexerto (opens in new tab), the company has lost one of its most famous backers, leaf evangelist and Hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg, resigned from the board of directors on March 29 after the company lost him.

"On March 29, 2023, Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broaddus, Jr. gave notice of his resignation as a director of FaZe Holdings Inc. So at least they are still friends.

Snoop and FaZe only revealed that the rapper will join the company's board of directors (open in a new tab) in March 2022, meaning his tenure would have only lasted about a year.

It is another in a long series of blows for FaZe Clan, whose stock price fell by a quarter on its first day of listing last year. Last week, in a letter to shareholders (opens in new tab), the company touted Snoop's participation in FaZe as one of its "talent highlights" and "achievements for 2022 + 2023." The letter was published the day after Snoop informed FaZe that he was stepping down from the company's board.

FaZe's SEC filings do not provide details of why Snoop chose to relinquish his seat on the board, but it is not difficult to understand. The company has had several executive resignations in the past year and has not recovered since its initial public offering; in fiscal year 2022, it reported a loss of $168.5 million, including a "one-time accounting charge of $115.3 million." Without that charge, the loss would be $55.3 million, but in any case it is worse than the net loss of $36.9 million in fiscal year 2021.

Dexerto (opens in new tab) also reports that FaZe Clan has been served a "notice of deficiency" by NASDAQ, threatening to be delisted by the exchange if it cannot maintain its stock price above $1 for 10 consecutive days within the next six months.

In other words, it seems likely that Snoop is not optimistic about FaZe Clan's future and is backing out now; according to Sportico (open in new tab), Snoop's eagerness to leave may have cost him some 214,000 shares.

Despite this, FaZe Clan CEO Lee Trinke remained resolutely upbeat in a letter to shareholders: "We are taking the right steps toward successful long-term growth," he said, "and the future of FaZe Clan I am as optimistic as ever," he added.