Reebok is such a shitty brand name to have. Better be Nike or Adidas. 
RockyBullwinkle -Ingrained Media -RockyBullwinkle -Ingrained Media -Cyril Jeff -eljamaiquino -warriorx559 -Most likely. Dana is blocking that Nike- Anderson Silva money.
could this be a reason why Anderson wasn't wearing Nike in his interview?
http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=forum.posts&thread=2268047&forum=1&page=1&pc=22
huh, Dana wouldn't let Anderson wear a nike shirt, even in his pre-fight interviews?
No that is not how it works. The UFC has control over what the athlete wears during broadcast times. So weigh ins and fight nights are regulated. For interviews with the media you can wear what you want. The athletes are independent contractors and control only goes so far.
So what are you and other managers doing to make sure your clients make as much as possible from these deals? Think you'd like to see to see something comparable to the NBA or NFL where players get half that revenue. If not that then at least much as fighters would be making now if there was no sponsor tax.
I can't speak for other managers. For my clients it comes down to controlling the controllable. Making sponsorship dollars the night your scheduled to fight is not something we can control.
Our firm has never focused on in fight or ambush marketing the events. We have ran into many situations where the sponsor was not allowed to place their logo in a particular event, that did not change the terms for the athlete, it just made us adjust how we were activating the deal.
I have been on record from the start about how bad the sponsorship programs are. I got into the sport to do it differently and we did. UFC 68 Head to toe one brand and they were not some fight gear brand. SOYO fight Team, Arlovski LCD TV's, Malibu Boats, MTX Audio (sponsoring 0-0 ASU wrestlers with guys who went on to win TUF), Good4U and many other non-MMA brands who have been involved with the athletes of the sport not trying to buy a placement on a UFC PPV.
We will continue to fight the good fight but as long as Managers and Trainagers continue to give it away we are not going to be making much of a difference. For every company that our agency brings into the sport (with the above understanding of not focusing on UFC events and focus on the athletes) gets more calls from managers offering UFC event placement for free then MMA fans calling to buy the product. Bad management is a disease that has gone viral in this sport. If Zuffa wants to handle all the in fight stuff that is fine by me. My job is to build the fighter not sell stuff we have no control over.
Just because Reebok has the licensing rights to a particular sport does not mean that the athlete outside of the time competing has no value. As a matter of fact Nike will like increase the amount of athletes they do lines for if a company like Reebok joined forces with the UFC. Look at how they went after Skate and Golf, both were dominated by endemic brands but Nike carved out a market. In the end the athletes still participate in a free market.
It makes sense to put your focus on outside the cage deals but with the kind of revenue these type of deals can generate aren't the fighters giving up huge dollars by not trying to negotiate a big split of this new revenue? It sounds like what you're saying is that it is pointless to try and negotiate a bigger slice of these deals since the UFC holds all the cards. Am i wrong in assuming this is what you mean?
Rocky,
I am saying that in business you negotiate what you can but in the end it comes down to leverage. You either have it or you do not. Sometimes in this sport that comes in the way of PPV buys.
As a manager I work for the athlete. My job is to manage his business. If the focus was on things I have no control over how effective am I? A manager should bring in new business and find new ways of increasing the revenue while protecting the bottom line.
As a result our clients make a living doing what they love and we are able to focus full time on growing their business.
kalt - Fighters won't get paid from this. They'll just lose out on the ability to get sponsored themselves by a different company. Like Anderson and Jones not being able to be sponsored by Nike anymore. UFC is not gonna compensate them for that, they'll just say there's good news, you can possibly get sponsored by Reebock now.
If you look at the WNBA they have team uniforms and the teams sell the space on the uniforms to big corporate sponsors. The athletes are required to wear this uniform. The main difference is that those athletes are not independent contractors, they are paid if they are injured, they are guaranteed a certain amount of money each year. Winning or selling tickets is not part of that contract. These ladies can do endorsement deals with brands that compete directly with the teams sponsor or the WNBA sponsors, they just cannot wear that brands logo during events put on by the WNBA.
In combat sports the athletes are independent contractors. What they can wear during Zuffa televised events can be and is regulated. As the Zuffa brand increases the categories that do not have a "sponsor tax" associated with them will be bought out by brands that want to be aligned with the UFC. Some of this money will find its way to the athletes. There is a long list of major endorsement deals that Zuffa puts together with these brands and athletes under contract. They have no obligation to do it but they do.
If Reebok is the sponsor for the apparel category this will drive Reebok's competitors to look at working with the athletes outside of the cage. This will create more opportunity for the top level guys, and force the smaller MMA apparel companies to adjust the way they do business.
This year we have a client that we advised to pull its sponsorship dollars from Zuffa. The fact that they were paying mid 5 figures for permission was insane. That money is now being spent on athletes. The point is the brands do not need the to be seen in the cage to be effective. Some may argue that the patch system that has been in place has cause patch blindness. The RoI is not there, the only thing you are guaranteed is a flood of emails and calls from managers asking you to sponsor their fighter at this upcoming event.
Maybe I will redact some of these proposals and post them so you can see what brands are dealing with. It will be painfully obvious that Zuffa is within its right to charge fees for permission and that the managers are incompetent at best.
This should be a pretty good deal for most fighters i believe. The bigger names will get exclusive lines. The smaller names will still get decent money from the deal IF the UFC is fair in charging the spoils.
Still the sport needs a big sporting apparel company behind them. It's another step into the mainstream. And i do believe it will make it more acceptable for more mainstream companies to sponsor the sport and the athletes competing within.
It think it will be Reebok,so it will be Adidas by default.
cyberc92 -1k?:) I remember having to sell tickets to my own fight and I could keep $5 bucks of every ticket sold!If it ain't Dutch, it ain't much - Funny thing is if the deal goes through and everyone gets money, the UG will bitch it's screwing the top fighters over who could of got more money on their own. No matter what, the UG will bitch.
The UG has been that way forever. Most of the assholes that post on here now weren't around or forgot about the days fighters were getting paid like 1k.
Ingrained Media -Cyril Jeff -eljamaiquino -warriorx559 -could this be a reason why Anderson wasn't wearing Nike in his interview?
http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=forum.posts&thread=2268047&forum=1&page=1&pc=22
Most likely. Dana is blocking that Nike- Anderson Silva money. <img alt="Phone Post 3.0" border="0" src="/images/phone/droid.png" style="vertical-align:middle;" /></blockquote> <br /> <p> </p> <p> huh, Dana wouldn't let Anderson wear a nike shirt, even in his pre-fight interviews?</p> <p> </p> </blockquote> <br /> No that is not how it works. The UFC has control over what the athlete wears during broadcast times. So weigh ins and fight nights are regulated. For interviews with the media you can wear what you want. The athletes are independent contractors and control only goes so far.</blockquote>
I don't think it's a coincidence that Anderson's kit for this weekend is missing a Nike check though, right?
he typically wears his walkout gear, or small variations, the entire fight week, same stuff.
weird.
Farthammer - Nice! I imagine the fighters will get a huge cut of the sponsorship deal.You really think so? How many zuffa contracts do fighters benefit greatly from?
This will be great for zuffa but I dont know how good it will be for the fighters. Zuffa contracts are heavily lopsided in zuffas favor as is.
Dana has, in the recent past, talked about trying to do a deal that would pay all fighters, from prelim guys up to headliners like Cain.
This certainly would fit the bill. I would imagine fighters could still wear non-clothing sponsor logos.
Honestly, if it makes all of the crappy skulls and Gothic stuff go away, I will be thrilled.
Frankly, I would love to see a fighter have his shirt made up more like old-school concert shirts.
cyberc92 -OnlyTheStrongSurvive -cyberc92 -Fighter pay has never had anything to do with the amount they are getting paid. It has to do with what percent of revenue they are getting.If it ain't Dutch, it ain't much - Funny thing is if the deal goes through and everyone gets money, the UG will bitch it's screwing the top fighters over who could of got more money on their own. No matter what, the UG will bitch.
The UG has been that way forever. Most of the assholes that post on here now weren't around or forgot about the days fighters were getting paid like 1k.
Zuffa is a private company so they won't be disclosing numbers ever. Also with revenue comes overhead costs, SG&A, taxes, overseas expansion, cable company cut, whatever widgets they produce with a bs "UFC" logo etc.
Based on what fighters report they are getting paid they get a tiny share of revenue compared to what athletes in other major sports get paid, but thanks for acting like you have a better understanding of this issue than other people, retardo.
Lynchman - Dana has, in the recent past, talked about trying to do a deal that would pay all fighters, from prelim guys up to headliners like Cain.
This certainly would fit the bill. I would imagine fighters could still wear non-clothing sponsor logos.
Honestly, if it makes all of the crappy skulls and Gothic stuff go away, I will be thrilled.
Frankly, I would love to see a fighter have his shirt made up more like old-school concert shirts.
I think it will just be a % added to their show money. So if your show money is $10k you get $1-2k to wear the UFC approved jersey/shorts. Basically be a way to get fighters more money and the fighters won't have to be posting on Twitter looking for apparel sponsors because these MMA Apparel companies aren't paying what most would consider fair.
I can see them eventually doing this with a bunch of sponsors.
It is no different then the UFCs deal with Harley Davidson in the regards a fighter can't go get a sponsorship with Victory Motorcycles and wear a Victory shirt in the octagon. I think eventually there will be no more sponsors or banners allowed which will be fine as long as fighters are making more money.
Wouldn't be surprised if it it's Reebok; they're losing a LOT of business to Nike (most sports), Adidas (futbol).
They need something like this to further their market share. Smart move actually, they failed with the NBA, now they targeted Crossfit and now MMA
If it ain't Dutch, it ain't much -If zuffa says "tough shit" what do they do then?Ben Saunders - This is a nice nail biter....
It could end up being awesome for everyone. :)
I agree... it might hurt some of the top guys but they will just in return ask for more money when the negotiate their next deal due to losses from not being able to get other sponsors.
Ingrained Media -Voted upkalt - Fighters won't get paid from this. They'll just lose out on the ability to get sponsored themselves by a different company. Like Anderson and Jones not being able to be sponsored by Nike anymore. UFC is not gonna compensate them for that, they'll just say there's good news, you can possibly get sponsored by Reebock now.
If you look at the WNBA they have team uniforms and the teams sell the space on the uniforms to big corporate sponsors. The athletes are required to wear this uniform. The main difference is that those athletes are not independent contractors, they are paid if they are injured, they are guaranteed a certain amount of money each year. Winning or selling tickets is not part of that contract. These ladies can do endorsement deals with brands that compete directly with the teams sponsor or the WNBA sponsors, they just cannot wear that brands logo during events put on by the WNBA.
In combat sports the athletes are independent contractors. What they can wear during Zuffa televised events can be and is regulated. As the Zuffa brand increases the categories that do not have a "sponsor tax" associated with them will be bought out by brands that want to be aligned with the UFC. Some of this money will find its way to the athletes. There is a long list of major endorsement deals that Zuffa puts together with these brands and athletes under contract. They have no obligation to do it but they do.
If Reebok is the sponsor for the apparel category this will drive Reebok's competitors to look at working with the athletes outside of the cage. This will create more opportunity for the top level guys, and force the smaller MMA apparel companies to adjust the way they do business.
This year we have a client that we advised to pull its sponsorship dollars from Zuffa. The fact that they were paying mid 5 figures for permission was insane. That money is now being spent on athletes. The point is the brands do not need the to be seen in the cage to be effective. Some may argue that the patch system that has been in place has cause patch blindness. The RoI is not there, the only thing you are guaranteed is a flood of emails and calls from managers asking you to sponsor their fighter at this upcoming event.
Maybe I will redact some of these proposals and post them so you can see what brands are dealing with. It will be painfully obvious that Zuffa is within its right to charge fees for permission and that the managers are incompetent at best.
its the ufc sponsor
-I'm not trying to come across as harsh, but it just seems to me like you're telling fighters to forget getting a bigger slice of the money generated by the events (where the vast majority of the dollars is generated) and instead focus on outside endorsement deals which has historically been a much smaller source of revenue for most athletes. Is this just the reality of how much the ball is in the UFC's court, because I don't see Al Hayman following this same approach?
What is Al doing that is changing the way the UFC conducts business? The top guys are well taken care with off the book transactions that keep them happy. So the UFC does take care of the people that fill the seats, ever seen the arena during the prelims? What % of pay should I demand for the guy on the prelims? Why would the top guys stop their % of take to help these lower level guys? Maybe Al sees something I don't but to get "Anderson Money" you have to start with the prelims.
A managers job is not to sit and bitch about stuff they can't control.
I wouldn't say we surrendered to anyone, we carved out opportunity where their was none instead. I do not see a time where MMA will be unionized and the issues you are speaking of require that. It did not happen in Boxing, Mayweather EARNED the big paydays because without him there is no event. MMA does not have a Mayweather.
The reality is that managers send emails offering FREE placement on UFC level guys. Most fighters will take any fight for any amount of money just to fight, if they wont others will. This means fighters and sponsorship have become commodities.
I hope, for the athletes sake, that Al comes into MMA and gets his fighters Mayweather money. If he can I will encourage everyone of my guys to seek his services. Until that happens we will just service our clients to the best of our abilities.
#TeamAl
.
Vitor ain't gonna be happy has there ever been a more sponsored fighter the guy has logo's every where didn't Bisping say he looked like a NASCAR.
ttt
Jason--I agree it is not a manager's job to sit and bitch about things they cannot control. You creatively think of ways to work with the hand you are dealt.
That said, it is also not a manager's job to pretend this is a good move for the benefit of the athletes--it quite clearly is not. If I recall--you said the same thing about the sponsor tax--how this would improve the sponsorship landscape for ahtletes.
This is quite clearly not the case--and it is truly baffling to me why any manager, would in public, argue these are good moves for the talent. They are not. This is one party with far superior power imposing and taking more.
GSP would sell out the Bell Centre Jason--as well as tens of thousands of tickets at Skydome--UFC or no UFC.
MMA has a number of such fighters.
To put this point a different way, if Mayweather was a star mixed martial artist in the UFC, and all other things with Mayweather were the same, he wouldn't earn "Mayweather" money at all.
Mayweather, in boxing, can retain his title and championship status, regardless of promoter. Mayweather operates in a sport where their are independent sanctioning bodies that issue rankings and titles. Mayweather operates in a sport where promoters vigoruously compete, and also face the threat of the star athlete self-promotiong--which Mayweather did.
All of these things have been foreclosed in MMA. This is why no one earns "Mayweather" money--no other reason.