Dana: UFC valued at $7b now

[FrankieNYC]

7 billion seems a stretch, overestimating by a few billion.

They did really well with the TV deals but what makes the UFC so valuable in my eyes is the fact there is no union or fighter say in pretty much anything bar your top talents.

I wonder what would happen to that value if fighters started to take a few pieces of the pie.

The reason they are worth $6b+ is ...
Their profit margin is huge
It would depend on how much more they pay.
In 2016 they paid about $120m off of a little over $700m rev
If they paid $140m that would be an average of about $36k more per fighter & hardly affect the bottom line

 

[rearnakedchoke]

Need a gif of frank and lorenzo laughing for this thread. Has to be a vid out there

 

[crysis]

https://mmajunkie.com/2018/08/dana-white-ufc-sold-worth-7-billion-price-espn-tv-deal

UFC President Dana White claims the price tag for his fight promotion is nearly double what it sold for roughly two years ago.


Endeavor purchased the UFC for $4.025 billion in August 2016. There were many perceived uncertainties in the wake of the deal, but White immediately promised it would be for the betterment of the organization in the sport moving forward.


According to White and corroborating investor reports, 2017 was the most financially lucrative year in company history. Add in the UFC’s new stateside television deal with ESPN worth $1.5 billion over five years, and White said the value of the UFC brand now sits at a whopping $7 billion.

More here

ya gloat that the company is worth like 7 billion and yet you have fighters working for you and your paying them peanuts, all i see is corporate greed, sugar coat it all you want, but fighters should be paid more not just the top guys, and fighters should be able to have the choice of sponsors, if your not willing to share some of that networth of 7 billion then fighters should at least be free to outsource other forms of income through sponsorship, media, ect.

 

[TheIrishPsycho]

The reason they are worth $6b+ is ...
Their profit margin is huge
It would depend on how much more they pay.
In 2016 they paid about $120m off of a little over $700m rev
If they paid $140m that would be an average of about $36k more per fighter & hardly affect the bottom line

True,

But I wasn't thinking of a small increase, I was thinking if we ever got to the stage basketball with the players taking a huge amount of the tv money or the crazy bidding wars for premier league which has seen teams spending well over half their revenue on wages alone...

I don't think we'll get there as prize fighting just isn't like team sports - most guys at the top will want to make their money on their own worth.

But surely its a significant factor in UFCs worth? The fact UFC can just sign a new uniform deal and take away fighter sponsors to effectively take that money and add it to their bottom line etc - thats not the only example of course.

 

[Loiosh]

It's worth SEVERAL sports clubs.

And the best part is they don't have to pay anybody.

They have a stable of five hundred fighters. They employ hundreds of general staff across several countries. They are responsible for licensing and promotion for every one of their events. One of their stars is one of the most well paid athletes in the world (top twenty).

They aren't filling a 20k arena forty times a year (hockey) or 70k stadiums sixteen times a year (football) or 20k arenas forty times a year (NBA) and selling fifteen dollars beers and ten dollar hot dogs to those people.

If you're going to compare MMA to team sports, you have to take a better look at what team players are putting out for their pay, and the INSANE competition for their spots on their teams.

 

[Flokk]

They have a stable of five hundred fighters. They employ hundreds of general staff across several countries. They are responsible for licensing and promotion for every one of their events. One of their stars is one of the most well paid athletes in the world (top twenty).

They aren't filling a 20k arena forty times a year (hockey) or 70k stadiums sixteen times a year (football) or 20k arenas forty times a year (NBA) and selling fifteen dollars beers and ten dollar hot dogs to those people.

If you're going to compare MMA to team sports, you have to take a better look at what team players are putting out for their pay, and the INSANE competition for their spots on their teams.

Sure. It ain't easy being a monopoly.

At any rate, it's less a comparison of team sports v MMA and more a comparison of mainstream sports v fringe shit.

 

[FrankieNYC]

True,

But I wasn't thinking of a small increase, I was thinking if we ever got to the stage basketball with the players taking a huge amount of the tv money or the crazy bidding wars for premier league which has seen teams spending well over half their revenue on wages alone...

I don't think we'll get there as prize fighting just isn't like team sports - most guys at the top will want to make their money on their own worth.

But surely its a significant factor in UFCs worth? The fact UFC can just sign a new uniform deal and take away fighter sponsors to effectively take that money and add it to their bottom line etc - thats not the only example of course.

It will never go from 17% to 50% in a single jump though
there would be no UFC & the fighters will be fucked
it will go up with small(er) increases
Btw ... $20m is not small, it is 15%

But I hear ya

 

[Lemmy Caution]

UFC makes a ridiculous amount of profit
In 2017, about $300m off of about $750m, that is where the value is
They made about 9x the profit WWE did when they were trading on the market at over $2b

They were valued at $5b in Sept 2017 & worth much more in 2019 due to escalating deals, value & the ESPN windfall

What says F1 doesn't? F1 doesn't pay the racers money. Each racing team does. F1 is very different from the UFC and Manchester United.

I'm fully aware that you cannot compare them 1:1. There are billionaires who run sports teams as a hobby. "I'm rich. I want to own the Yankees."

The UFC is much more of a risk than F1. F1 has been around since forever. It will survive a fatality. What happens if a fighter dies in the cage in front of millions? The UFC is most likely never going to be anything but a niche sport in Europe. People generally don't like to watch people punch each other in the face. Fighting has all but disappeared from the NHL. How many pure enforcers are there left? The days of Chris "Knuckles" Nilan are gone. The only reason the league hasn't banned fighting is because they fear the consequences of doing so. What if injuries on star players go up, once players don't have to face the consequences and drop their gloves? They cannot reverse a ban on fighting. (Many people do laugh at this argument. Other sports are able to police themselves without enforcers. You know. Referees. Why shouldn't the NHL be able to do the same?)

The NHL wants the Walt Disney money. That means attracting families, not drunk 20-year-olds.

 

[GOAT]

He's full of shit as usual. They've been taking out loans ever since WME bought the UFC (bought with a $1.8 billion dollar loan I might add).

 

[FrankieNYC]

What says F1 doesn't?

???
I never mentioned F1

I brought up why UFC is valued so high
Or you did was focus on revenue & not profit

Sorry, but profit is the biggest reason they are worth so much

 

[CerebralKnievel]

Or go public & make bank

Would that be their goal? They'd have to open visibility to all their financials. Seems at odds with their pay structure for their talent

 

[PlayswellwithLawnDarts]

All WME assets maybe

 

[Coolkid666]

'the ufc is worth 7 billion"

-5 minutes later-

"heres 1k fight and 1k show money. go die"

 

[FrankieNYC]

All WME assets maybe

Not at all what he meant
WME doesn't even own 50% of UFC & much more varied than UFC
UFC owners are worth maybe $100b ... they are no joke

 

[GraveyardFilla]

Now go tell me again that a UFC champ does not deserve 1 million+ dollars.

Why would you pay someone more than you have to? Next time you're at McDonalds give the cashier a $5 tip. They don't make shit and they deserve it.

 

[FrankieNYC]

Why would you pay someone more than you have to? Next time you're at McDonalds give the cashier a $5 tip. They don't make shit and they deserve it.

I hear that, but UFC could & should pay more

 

[BakaSurvivor]

Some questions here:

What made the value go up? Mayweather vs McGregor?

Aren't the PPV numbers declining? If so, is PPV not a good chunk of the revenue?

What makes them worth what they are worth at this time? What do you think they did to do this?

 

[FrankieNYC]

Some questions here:

What made the value go up? Mayweather vs McGregor?

Aren't the PPV numbers declining? If so, is PPV not a good chunk of the revenue?

What makes them worth what they are worth at this time? What do you think they did to do this?

Explained a lot but since WME has taken over, every year has made more profit than any Lorenzo year
They cut budget by $50m+ & signed deals worldwide that bring in guaranteed money
They are a $200m+ profit company a year without a single PPV sold.
Add in ESPN deal at $300m a year guaranteed & the worth escalates

 

[faixafrouxa]

LMFAO...The Fighters are getting so ripped off.

At least they get reebok gear.

 

[frye666]

It is also presumed that Lobov will not be getting any sort of show money following his removal from UFC 223. The UFC released a statement Thursday night saying everyone involved in the McGregor incident, including McGregor and Lobov, will not be welcome at UFC 223 on Saturday night.

“All the guys that ended up not getting fights are gonna get paid. They’ll all get paid for not getting fights,” White said. “Just their show. We don’t have that much money.