Cannonier, UFC main event fighter - "I'm broke"

[rjmbrd]

Without numbers there is no discussion. Cheers.

We do have numbers - we know from court filings the UFC is paying an average of 18% of total revenue coming in to fighters for the past decade.

That is every single penny attributed to fighters, including PPV points, bonuses, even the insurance policy and performance institute.

So we know fighters are getting paid out pennies on the dollar in arguably the most lopsided overall deal in sports.

It isn't complicated to unpack why so many of these guys are begging for bonuses or saying they are broke live on TV.

 

[Fedorgasm]

MMA is a hobby. Most guys do it for fun.

This guy loved it so much that he chose to do it as his job. Good for him. But he doesn't get to bitch about the pay.

The rest of us have to do jobs that we don't love. If you decide you can't do that then fine, but I won't feel sorry for you.

That's like listening to some professional video game player complaining about his pay. If you choose to do something you love, you're saying that it's worth more than just money to you.

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

MMA is a hobby. Most guys do it for fun.

This guy loved it so much that he chose to do it as his job. Good for him. But he doesn't get to bitch about the pay.

The rest of us have to do jobs that we don't love. If you decide you can't do that then fine, but I won't feel sorry for you.

That's like listening to some professional video game player complaining about his pay. If you choose to do something you love, you're saying that it's worth more than just money to you.

Yeah loving what you do is great until you're 37 with three kids, a wife, two houses, and real life bills lol... I wonder what this dude is gonna do in two or three years when he can't compete anymore

 

[Fedorgasm]

Yeah loving what you do is great until you're 37 with three kids, a wife, two houses, and real life bills lol... I wonder what this dude is gonna do in two or three years when he can't compete anymore

That's a risk all pro athletes take.

It's the same with any industry.

I think bus drivers are severely underpaid considering all the shit they have to put up with. But as long as there are people willing to drive the bus for that amount, it will never change.

When the UFC can no longer attract young athletes with dreams of becoming champion, then it will change.

 

[JB730]

MMA is a hobby. Most guys do it for fun.

This guy loved it so much that he chose to do it as his job. Good for him. But he doesn't get to bitch about the pay.

The rest of us have to do jobs that we don't love. If you decide you can't do that then fine, but I won't feel sorry for you.

That's like listening to some professional video game player complaining about his pay. If you choose to do something you love, you're saying that it's worth more than just money to you.

This quote shows how little some UFC fans value the sport they pay money to watch

I don’t pay money to watch people do “hobbies”. I look at is as paying to watch professionals who are the best in the world at their craft, something I can’t see elsewhere

And so that’s why I’ll pay a lot of money to watch a sport like the NBA, where the athletes are world class, get paid accordingly…and the quality shows in the product.

But UFC? Well, if people think it’s just fighters doing a hobby and it’s OK to pay chump change…then why would I pay top money to watch that? As if it’s Ok that the vast majority of my ticket/PPV money goes to fluff like marketing/executives/etc….nah, that’s NOT ok with me, I’m not going to pay a lot for that - especially when it’s at the expense of the product quality

You get what you pay for. And so paying chump change gets you the caliber of fighters who get knocked out by Jake Paul. That situation won’t improve until fighter pay gets better.

 

[WuDi]

On one hand I get it, but on the other how much is he being paid total in a year, I assume it's over 100k. That's more than the vast majority of people in USA and depending on where he lives it's a very livable wage especially for a job that you love.

If we assume that their skillset consists mainly of beating people up, what are the alternative career paths? Being a coach at a fighting school, a personal trainer, or a bouncer? I don't think these alternative careers pay as much.

 

[avenue94]

On one hand I get it, but on the other how much is he being paid total in a year, I assume it's over 100k. That's more than the vast majority of people in USA and depending on where he lives it's a very livable wage especially for a job that you love.

If we assume that their skillset consists mainly of beating people up, what are the alternative career paths? Being a coach at a fighting school, a personal trainer, or a bouncer? I don't think these alternative careers pay as much.

A combat sports career is meant at the high levels is meant to last most of their life because they're going to be too fucked up for a lot of jobs after they retire and have significantly higher expenses in retirement.

Hence comparing fighter purses to median income for 9 to 5s is pretty silly.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

it kinda makes you wonder why people keep signing up to get treated like shit doesn't it?

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

That guy got paid 300k in 2019. He only fought once in 2020 and got paid 80k, and he just got paid 100k or so apparently for fighting once in 2021.

I say if you got paid almost half a million fighting five times in last two years, and you are broke, then it's your fucking fault.

It probably is. I don't like Dana as much as the next guy, but these guys getting paid millions and crying about not getting enough is just lame.

this is exactly why i don't understand the fighter pay arguments. it's like they're so sure that they know what everyone is making and everyone is spending and they done the math and by their sherdog accountant standards Dana is fucking the fighters over royally.

ok, i can get with that. but then my next question is, why do these fighters who are constantly getting fucked, KEEP GOING BACK TO THE UFC???

that's the real question none of the fighter pay guys want to answer. how can anyone help someone who DOESN'T WANT TO HELP THEMSELVES.

it's not like walking away from the sport because your pay is shit is some unheard of move. Kole Konrad and Phillip Miller both did that.

 

[avenue94]

ok, i can get with that. but then my next question is, why do these fighters who are constantly getting fucked, KEEP GOING BACK TO THE UFC???

Why do workers keep working for employers that steal their wages or tips, or why do migrants end up in sweatshops or indentured servitude? Power disparities matter, as does monopsony power in labor markets. For mma:
-UFC is about 90 percent of worldwide revenue, they have monopsony power which drives down wages and can get away with easily outbidding other promoters because they have so much more revenue to play with. This means they just have to pay above reservation wages.
-UFC has north or 60 or 70 percent of the elite talent (top 15). If you want to be seen as the best, you have to fight those fighters, most of whom are with the UFC already.
-Nature of combat sports, lack of regulations and the over all contract situation

that's the real question none of the fighter pay guys want to answer. how can anyone help someone who DOESN'T WANT TO HELP THEMSELVES.

For the same reason homelessness or poverty exists. Some of it is due to individual choices, most of it is just systemic failures or features, depending on you see those factors. You're essentially asking "How come individuals can't fix systemic problems with individual choices" It's a dumbass question with an obvious answer.

 

[TomTomNT]

sure. But there’s also expenses for them as well like coaches, gyms etc…

What makes it important imo is less so that Jared is broke, and more so that he even has to think about it considering the value of his work. Yes for most people 100-200k a year is a great income. But he’s not most people. He’s a top talent In the premier combat sports organization of the world. He’s airing on the largest sports network in the world, during prime time, on the most watched television night of the week. He’s the chicken that lays golden eggs. And yet, he’s paid like he brings moderate talent to the table.

Thats all speculative, i dont want to be defending big orgs but im playing devils advocate here, on top of i already agree that fighters should be paid more so i would not have an issue if he got a raise for what ever it took for him to be making what he deserves. However, we dont know what numbers this guy does, and we all know its all about the numbers, hes 4-3 in his last 7, hes lost vs most of the top tier talent he has faced, like Jan, or Reyes, or Whittaker, so he isnt this "super accomplished top tier talent" hes more of a gate keeper and is 37 years old fighting other gate keepers.

We can argue his talent and people he fought, but he has not accomplished much of anything in the org besides being there an extended period of time, which he got paid for i think a pretty good amount for what majority of the house holds in the world make

There are guys on sports networks that are airing every day that make less than him, plenty of reporters and people like that.

I hope he gets his money and i hope sooner or later UFC ends up paying the fighters more, but i think there are a lot of lower tier fighters who are getting paid a lot less and are much better examples than guys who made close to a million or half a million in a few years complaining about not getting paid without having a championship pedigree or being fan favorites due to their fighting style or antics, there are ways to be a star or a rich fighter in the UFC without winning shit, and i dont think Jared fits into that category of someone who is a draw in the UFC at least currently.

 

[4n4L53x]

Bitch, please. I've made over a million in the last five years in revenue and I don't live large. I don't pay gym fees. I don't pay management. I pay overhead for an office business. Would you be surprised to hear that I've actually made several million in the past five years and only employ three, and still don't live large?

A million dollars in revenue in five years in the U.S. isn't shit, honestly. If you're not a business owner (which UFC fighters are, for tax purposes), then you have no idea. These guys need to be making $750k+ per year in revenue to cover their expenses as contractors to the UFC and have the peace of mind to train full-time.

Nonsense.

I also own a business, while I've made significantly more than $1million in the last 5 years you're full of shit saying he needs to be making $750k a year, he doesn't have employees.
He doesn't have to pay for labor costs, he doesn't have to provide health insurance for his employees, he doesn't have to pay for IT costs, renting office space and all the other costs of being an actual business owner.

His expenses are his gym, food, management costs and he lives in a low COL city.
When I was working for someone else making $150k a year I had similar costs that he does living in a far more expensive city.

He mismanages his money if he can't find a way to make $500k last for 5 years, he needs to hire someone to help with his finances because something isn't right.