Media Chael's thoughts on fighter's pay

[Dan Torrance]

I didn't watch this one yet but it seems the UFC pay model is largely based off of getting a cut of PPV's. You've got to sell ppv's. Chael spends a lot of time explaining how to sell PPV's.

 

[BoD 2.0]

let me throw out a wild guess here: he's shilling for the UFC?

stop watching his videos a while ago, he's full of shit

He says the most outrageous shit sometimes. He has to be doing it intentionally.

 

[CerebralKnievel]

I can’t listen to cheal. Something about the way he talk and his mannerisms. He just comes off smug, for lack of a better term.

Something odd that no one here ever seems to notice (or discuss, at any rate) is how weird he behaves now while doing panel discussions on broadcasts.

When he's actually speaking he moves normally, but when someone else is speaking he holds his hands very oddly. Looks like he's trying to restrain tremors or something.

 

[Dan Torrance]

Hard core fans might like the story that the UFC is bad and fighters deserve better pay but at the end of the day that doesn't sell PPV's.

I mean unless you're outside the UFC and already have a following like Jake Paul.

 

[MrKontakos]

Very fitting that the start of the video is him shilling some garbage product.

 

[Deleted member 110072]

Honestly a real piece of shit move. To advocate for the UFC fully knowing they do NOT pay their fighters enough is ridiculous.

Fighters receive only a small percentage of the total. It’s ridiculous and holding the sport back.

This is really what some people don't seem to understand, fighter pay isnt just about people "getting their due" its about advancing the sport.

For all Dana's talk about "bigger than soccer" I would argue that really his business tactic is to keep MMA "small" to keep it as something he can control and monopolise. The sport could be so much bigger and better if more of the money was being spent on talent but Dana preffers a bigger slice of a smaller pie.

 

[BigGing]

Chael made a ton of money with the UFC...why would he give a shit at this point what they're paying?

 

[Dan Torrance]

This is really what some people don't seem to understand, fighter pay isnt just about people "getting their due" its about advancing the sport.

For all Dana's talk about "bigger than soccer" I would argue that really his business tactic is to keep MMA "small" to keep it as something he can control and monopolise. The sport could be so much bigger and better if more of the money was being spent on talent but Dana preffers a bigger slice of a smaller pie.

I'm not so sure.

I think he's trying to create his own infrastructure with the UFC gym's and PI's but the PI model is in competition with an existing gym model.

He might be onto something with the PI model but I haven't looked into it too much.

What people need to understand is that MMA is still in the early stages.

 

[Dionysian]

Forget UFC increasing their shit salaries 6-fold. Some child laborers made 0 cents when they were slaves in 2005. Now they may make 25 cents an hour. 25 cents is literally more than one-million times the amount of 0 cents. Overseas sweatshops = the most humane job/improved salaries in terms of percentages... per Chael Sonnen's logic.

Keep whoring yourself to justify why fighters shouldn't get paid, Chael. Keep your fucking UFC tickets, but at least plug the logic I just used to annihilate your argument on your next shill session disguised as a stream of consciousness podcast.

 

[Dan Torrance]

Forget UFC increasing their shit salaries 6-fold. Some child laborers made 0 cents when they were slaves in 2005. Now they may make 25 cents an hour. 25 cents is literally more than one-million times the amount of 0 cents. Overseas sweatshops = the most humane job/improved salaries in terms of percentages... per Chael Sonnen's logic.

Keep whoring yourself to justify why fighters shouldn't get paid, Chael. Keep your fucking UFC tickets, but at least plug the logic I just used to annihilate your argument on your next shill session disguised as a stream of consciousness podcast.

What's the story here? I'm intrigued.

 

[MrKontakos]

This is really what some people don't seem to understand, fighter pay isnt just about people "getting their due" its about advancing the sport.

For all Dana's talk about "bigger than soccer" I would argue that really his business tactic is to keep MMA "small" to keep it as something he can control and monopolise. The sport could be so much bigger and better if more of the money was being spent on talent but Dana preffers a bigger slice of a smaller pie.

Agreed. It's why the heavyweight talent pool is smaller than any other sport. True big men are going to go into boxing for combat, and everything else for real money. Why get punched in the head and insulted by your promoter if you make it to the highest level when you can become basically a hero in one of the other sports that are more popular while making 100x the cash.

 

[Deleted member 110072]

Agreed. It's why the heavyweight talent pool is smaller than any other sport. True big men are going to go into boxing for combat, and everything else for real money. Why get punched in the head and insulted by your promoter if you make it to the highest level when you can become basically a hero in one of the other sports that are more popular while making 100x the cash.

MMA as well is a sport were money really does talk, its always been about attracting talent from other sports so the more you pay the better talent you get, espeically the more you offer early in fighters careers to get them to switch originally.

 

[Dionysian]

What's the story here? I'm intrigued.

In his video he makes a point to say that back in 2005 he was paid 2k, and says now the minimum is 12k. He says no Fortune500 company can reflect a 6X increase to salaries, and challenges the audience to show one. He says if you can, he will buy you 2 tickets to any UFC event you want.

I just made a similar post on his youtube (which I never use) to the post I just made here. The reason Fortune500 companies can't show 6X increases is because they aren't fucking circus economics... they are established systems with established incomes.

If he wants to uphold the UFC as being better because he wants to champion circus/exploitation economics of 2k paychecks per fight, then sure... I'll bring up south Asian/African child sweatshops, which under his logic are better than the UFC which is better than Fortune500 companies because they bump paychecks up while still being under a dollar a day.

All I wanted was to challenge his BS logic, but I'm sure he'll just ignore it.

 

[Credo]

Didn’t watch, but let me guess…

 

[Dan Torrance]

In his video he makes a point to say that back in 2005 he was paid 2k, and says now the minimum is 12k. He says no Fortune500 company can reflect a 6X increase to salaries, and challenges the audience to show one. He says if you can, he will buy you 2 tickets to any UFC event you want.

I just made a similar post on his youtube (which I never use) to the post I just made here. The reason Fortune500 companies can't show 6X increases is because they aren't fucking circus economics... they are established systems with established incomes.

If he wants to uphold the UFC as being better because he wants to champion circus/exploitation economics of 2k paychecks per fight, then sure... I'll bring up south Asian/African child sweatshops, which under his logic are better than the UFC which is better than Fortune500 companies because they bump paychecks up while still being under a dollar a day.

All I wanted was to challenge his BS logic, but I'm sure he'll just ignore it.

Please keep this up this is very compelling must watch tv for me. I want to see this storyline unfold and I'll gladly accept the UFC tickets on your behalf.

I've always enjoyed a good Chael fight.

Maybe call him out in an article published in the Bloody Elbow?

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

Shilling or practical?

Shale is an full-time shill but he is right on fighters' pay. The people obsessing about this should mind their fucking business. Nobody is forcing anybody to sign a contract.

 

[ZeeTV]

“Boo hoo! They deserve more!!” Stfu with that shit. People in every industry and in every job think they should get paid more. Are you the knight in shining armor who’s there to stand up for all these people? Do you think your pathetic, little crusade to go on the internet and complain about another man’s paycheck will work? I bet those people will be thankful they have you. Fight on, SJW.

Hahahahaha making one post on the internet is a crusade now? This is a discussion forum.

If you like watching MMA and want to see the best fights then it’s important fighters earn more. That’s how mma will get the best athletes and we’ll watch the best fights. Pretty simple to understand

 

[Dan Torrance]

Hahahahaha making one post on the internet is a crusade now? This is a discussion forum.

If you like watching MMA and want to see the best fights then it’s important fighters earn more. That’s how mma will get the best athletes and we’ll watch the best fights. Pretty simple to understand

this thread delivers. LOL

 

[Elvis.]

I used to respect this guy ,I thought he was a mans man who would say what he believed was the truth . He’s such a ufc baglick now it makes me want to puke

 

[acannxr]

And major league athletes should not ask for more than what the pioneers of respective sport made. After all, Bronco Nagurski was so well compensated from the NFL he had to go to pro wrestling in order to make money.

I hate to repeat this, but it's not about pay in relative terms. It's about relative terms. Because the major leagues have revenue sharing, pay is directly linked to earnings. Whatever, say, an NHL club makes, the players get 50%. To that you have the minimum salary, which means nobody on the team makes less than $850,000. It's a fair deal, not because of how much the players make, but because of the share.

If the NHL made no money, the players would make no money. That would be fair too. They could still get 50%, but it would be 50% of nothing.

The UFC's median salary relative to their annual revenue is comparable to major sports leagues.

To add more perspective, major sports leagues' revenues are as far ahead of the UFC as the UFC is ahead of the WNBA, and the reason that the WNBA can't match the revenue split of the NBA is the same reason the UFC can't either: neither sport's properties make enough money to afford that kind of split.