Do fighters get a cut of the live gate?

[The Natural Born Runner]

I just read a great thread from @frandie2b around Stipe Miocic's comments on his own pay.

It got me thinking...

PPV points/percentage

It's well documented that champions (automatically) get some PPV "points", but I'm presuming that the % depends on how much of a draw that person is e.g. Ronda Rousey as a champion was probably getting a good percentage, whilst Amanda Nunes probably doesn't get as large a percentage (I can only presume).

Some non-champions inevitably get PPV "points" also. Examples of this would be Conor McGregor when he fought Chad Mendes, or Chael Sonnen when he fought Anderson Silva. I have no facts to back this up, but using common sense you would hope that the main component of promotion would get some of the PPV cut, seeming as he/she sold the PPV.

Live gate?

So that brings me to this important question: "Do the fighters get any cut of the live gate?"

I ask this because if they don't, they most definitely should.

All you ever hear from the UFC brass and Sherdoggers alike are criticisms over someone's drawing power. Essentially if Stipe Miocic does not sell PPVs then he isn't a "big draw", same would go for someone like Fabricio Werdum who had his request for more money shut down lately.

Wait a minute, did Fabricio not headline an event which sold 45,000 tickets!? Didn't Stipe sell out an arena in Cleveland which has almost 19,000 seats? Someone is coming to watch them, a lot of people actually.

PPVs cost $50 from what I'm aware, you'd be lucky to find 1 seat in an arena for a UFC PPV which is $50. These guys are not only selling PPVs, but putting asses in seats. I understand that they are not selling millions of PPVs and I don't expect them to get McGregor money, but throw a dog a bone man.

Let me know, do they actually get a cut and if so do we know a ball-park percentage?

 

[giusti825]

no.....gate, non-fighter specific merch, concessions and live bar streams are ufc money.....

 

[Peteyandjia]

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

no.....gate, non-fighter specific merch, concessions and live bar streams are ufc money.....

What's your opinion on that?

 

[giusti825]

but gate is small in comparison to ppv.....ufc 203 was sold out over 18,000 seats......2.6 million....

 

[Primitivo]

That's the spirit.

 

[MysticGOD]

 

[Wariowokecancel]

They don't and you can check out the online contracts.

Maybe Conor or Ronda could have demanded that but Conor knows the money is in PPV.

Gate money isn't that important to the UFC.

 

[Wariowokecancel]

What's your opinion on that?

You can have shit PPV sales and a great gate and vice versa. Put an UFC show on in Poland and it will sell out. Nobody will watch the PPV in the US. Put Conor on a card in buttfuck Alabama and you will be comping tickets but sell a million PPVs.

 

[Touch of Death]

Pretty sure they don't, which is kinda weird especially for UFC 205 as it had nearly 18 mil gate.

 

[dildos]

 

[giusti825]

What's your opinion on that?

i honestly dont have a problem with keeping live gate for the promoter.....it really is their work that goes into the setup of the event.....i also dont have a problem with the promotion keeping non-fighter-specific merch (ufc shirts, unsigned event posters, fake belts) and concessions as it is a direct result of their work and brand.

however, fighters should get a larger percentage of fighter specific merch, live bar streams should factor into the ppv formula at a proportionate rate but the promotion ahould get a decent portion of that as they work out the contracts for it.....the video games bearing a fighters likeness should absolutely pay in some sort of proportion to the fighters contract......

Anything beyond that should be split more evenly between the promotion and the fighters.....the contract ismdesigned to artificially reduce the fighters individual and collective value so the fighters can be underpaid.....

if youre going to use a restrictive contract to reduce fighter value, at least pay them a decently proportionate share of what they bring in.....15% is an insult.....im not saying go to 50 overnight as wme has a debt to repay, but make some sort of 10 year plan to bump up the percentage to at least 25% while paying down the 4.2 billion....the sport is still growing and it will help attract more talent....especially at HW.....it will increase revenue for everyone and expedite growth......

 

[paddy_da_pikey]

McGregor gets a part of the gate - his gates are different league - like $20 million for MSG was the record.

Remember his little speech about 'side numbers' - im looking at the side numbers, not just the PPV but the gate, the people I bring into an area, the economic boost, the impact I have on other fighters numbers etc etc

Im 99.99% sure McG isnt allowing a price hike on tickets to his events without seeing a cut of it

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

but gate is small in comparison to ppv.....ufc 203 was sold out over 18,000 seats......2.6 million....

I agree with that, and if you take a moment to do some mathematics you see the difference.

UFC 203 - UFC themselves claim it to have sold 450,000 buys, if I tally that at $50 a purchase, that is 22.5 million - put the gate on top on it's a total 25.1 million (not including merchandising, sponsors etc.)

UFC 196 - Meltzer said 1.6 million buys, if I tally that at $50 a purchase, that is 80 million - put the gate on top it's a total 88.1 million (not including merchandising, sponsors etc.)

I understand that 60 million is a big difference, but paying the guy less than a million in his pay packet, with probably a minuscule PPV cut is not fair, he deserves at least 2 million overall. Those guys in Cleveland were paying to see him fight, not anyone else.

 

[Threetrees]

I agree with that, and if you take a moment to do some mathematics you see the difference.

UFC 203 - UFC themselves claim it to have sold 450,000 buys, if I tally that at $50 a purchase, that is 22.5 million - put the gate on top on it's a total 25.1 million (not including merchandising, sponsors etc.)

UFC 196 - Meltzer said 1.6 million buys, if I tally that at $50 a purchase, that is 80 million - put the gate on top it's a total 88.1 million (not including merchandising, sponsors etc.)

I understand that 60 million is a big difference, but paying the guy less than a million in his pay packet, with probably a minuscule PPV cut is not fair, he deserves at least 2 million overall. Those guys in Cleveland were paying to see him fight, not anyone else.

The UFC doesn't get the entire $50, they get less than half just fyi

 

[mmafansince93]

The top guys negotiate higher show money these says... That is usually based on the other financials such as Gate and endorsements.

 

[JoshR86]

How much do you want the UFC to split?? They don't even make a million off gate, unless it's Conor

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

How much do you want the UFC to split?? They don't even make a million off gate, unless it's Conor

You don't know what you're talking about, UFC 203 was 2.6 million gate.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

The UFC doesn't get the entire $50, they get less than half just fyi

Well there you go

Gate is more important that even I thought!

 

[WinZip]

The live gate is funneled directly into an account that pays for the snow in Dana's drive way.