if you can't draw PPVs why should you get paid?

[UseARubberGuard]

Because the owners aren't the reason I watch, so why should they get paid?

I'm not saying that every fighter should be making 6 figures every fight, but, on the other hand, the discrepancy between the owners and the fighters does not adequately represent the amount the groups contribute to the sport.

 

[Frank Edgar]

The capitalism argument seems to always get turned against athletes no matter what they want.

When athletes want to get paid more the arguments are:

A. They get paid millions to play a game/fight why do they need more
B. In no other line of work are the common workers getting 50% of the income that the Company generates.
C. No one pays to that THEM (for the non-stars).

I am all for fighters getting paid in proportion to what they bring in. If a guy like Kobe Bryant or McGregor is a huge star then they should get huge paydays and they can even complain about wanting even more.

But guys like Mighty Mouse who don't draw anything and make no effort to promote their fights but want to get paid millions is BS. Being good at your job is NEVER a guarantee for making money in any industry. You can be the best programmer in the country but if you're working for a company that isn't profitable you aren't gonna get a big salary.

Guys like Mighty Mouse seem to think that being good fighters entitles them to millions of dollars, but no one pays to see them. How are you going to get paid millions if you aren't bringing in millions?

 

[bombfirst885]

In the long run I've always felt lower payouts hurt the organization. How are you going to attract the larger athletes going into other sports? I feel it's part of the reason 205 and above are so poorly populated with talent.

Fighters in the UFC are most likely training full time so they should be able to make a living wage on that.

 

[screaminleeman]

True, but I figure all those sports leagues listed are more known/popular when compared to the sport of MMA

Most likely because all of these sports recognize (just like the UFC) that it is vital to have access to the top up-and-comers in the sport. Every serious money mainstream sport has various levels of minor leagues and or development squads. All of them recognize the competition between the prospects as a necessary INVESTMENT to ensure future revenue at the major league level does not falter.

The UFC is too greedy to understand this fact, and are shooting themselves in the foot as such.

Minor leagues are SUPPOSE to cost the company money (in the short term), NOT make them money.

You don't see ANY of the mainstream sports capable of paying $$$ to their athletes do anything like the UFC. Take a look at an "average" UFC PPV card. There are around 13 fights featuring 26 fighters per PPV. How many of those 26 fighters are established stars/ highly ranked fighter? Well under half!

Can you imagine if an MLB team placed 13 of their top players on a 15 day DL (hangnails) and presented a MLB team consisting of mostly of a mix of Triple A, Double A, and single A players. That is what the UFC is attempting to do to us.

There should be no more than 200 fighters on the main UFC roster and stacked cards AS THE NORM would flat out increase face recognition value. I have no FUCKING idea why the UFC insists on two fighters not ranked in the top 100 make them "some" immediate revenue.

Myopic thought is a terrible thing.

 

[RedVikingHood]

all the fighter negotiation/contract talk has me asking that question. In capitalist society marginal benefit = marginal wage. It's unclear why some guy who draws nothing should really get compensated all that much

Only on Sherdog will you read such utter shite.


Those highly paid fighters need opponents - they are going to make sweet FA shadow boxing in an cage on their in own in an empty stadium.

 

[Kirin]

UFC shill detected.

And intro to economics student as well

 

[skullmaskkid]

Because the owners aren't the reason I watch, so why should they get paid?

I'm not saying that every fighter should be making 6 figures every fight, but, on the other hand, the discrepancy between the owners and the fighters does not adequately represent the amount the groups contribute to the sport.

the owners created the product, made the investment and takes all the risks... but you don't get why owners get the lionshare of profits?

 

[helltoupee]

all the fighter negotiation/contract talk has me asking that question. In capitalist society marginal benefit = marginal wage. It's unclear why some guy who draws nothing should really get compensated all that much

What proletariat endeavor puts beans on your table?

 

[LawFitz]

The problem with this argument is that you are essentially equating value only to the final sale. It's like saying only the salesmen in a company should get paid and all the people who were behind the scenes supporting the sale and execution of the product/service delivery should get nothing.

McGregor is a massive PPV star. But he created his value on the backs of Brimage, Holloway, Siver, Poirier, Mendes, Aldo, Diaz and Alvarez. All of the fighters on the roster collectively do the work to create the rankings, which the superstars climb as they make names for themselves.

 

[BigGing]

I understand your point, but It's also up to the UFC to promise more than a few fighters. This past Fox card was a perfect example. The only fighters they promoted ended up losing badly

 

[tithas]

all the fighter negotiation/contract talk has me asking that question. In capitalist society marginal benefit = marginal wage. It's unclear why some guy who draws nothing should really get compensated all that much

You shouldn't. In every business in the world you are only worth what you bring to the company. if you don't flip enough burgers to pay for your salary you are fired. if you don't sell enough accounts you are fired. if you don't save enough money in prevented defects you are fired.

 

[screaminleeman]

the owners created the product, made the investment and takes all the risks... but you don't get why owners get the lionshare of profits?

100% agree here! Further take into consideration that these mainstream sports are taking 1,000,000,000,000 times less risk that the UFC sending it's contracted athletes to maniacal concentration camps where Javier Mendez's are allowed to maim them with absolutely zero liability leads me to HONESTLY believe that they are the most grossly overpaid Athletes in Professional sports today.

How much do you think that the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHB would pay their players if they had zero legal recourse except to allow their contracted players to be herded into AKA like facilities free of liability?

 

[Fraz]

If everyone on this forum ordered UFC Fightpass right now, fighter pay would increase three fold, we need to start helping the fighters more guys, order now plz

 

[Frank Edgar]

The problem with this argument is that you are essentially equating value only to the final sale. It's like saying only the salesmen in a company should get paid and all the people who were behind the scenes supporting the sale and execution of the product/service delivery should get nothing.

McGregor is a massive PPV star. But he created his value on the backs of Brimage, Holloway, Siver, Poirier, Mendes, Aldo, Diaz and Alvarez. All of the fighters on the roster collectively do the work to create the rankings, which the superstars climb as they make names for themselves.

Salesmen usually are paid based on commission, so the more they sell the more they make.

People who aren't in sales usually get paid an hourly wage or salary. The amount they get paid usually depends on the difficulty of the job they are doing, the amount of training it requires, and most importantly how many people who are qualified to do that same job exist in the work force. That is why doctors get paid so much. It is very hard to become a doctor, requires years of training, and only a few people are qualified to do it.

In the world of the UFC ALL fighters are salespeople. The hourly workers are the technical people like the camera crew, the video editors, etc.

 

[phd]

Yeah I get frustrated with all the contract-talk. Your pay is what it is. Does it suck that CM Punk got paid what he did, while a supremely skilled/technical/classy/established/etc Demian Maia doesn't even sniff that level of pay? Yes. Yes, it royally sucks. Sage's pay versus Gall's pay? Yup...totally unfortunate. Waterson's pay versus Paige's pay? Super gay.

As annoying as that is, I get even more frustrated with the fighters/fans/Sherbruhs who will then get mad at the Sage's....like the fucking guy is gonna say "yeah, UFC...I love the idea of 80K to show and 80K to win...but I'm new to the game. Let me get dat $15K/$15K structure so I can keep it real for a while."

Prize fighting has always been, and always will be an entertainment endeavor. Guys will be paid and given opportunity based on the ability to sell. There is no sliding pay scale that is solely based on skill. This isn't some super unfair and sinister Zuffa ploy...this is how all combat sports work. Organizations will pay you what THEY think you are worth...which is based on how well they think you will sell. I mean, look at boxing: this week they announced that Canelo (not counting Floyd, obviously), who's the biggest draw in the sport, will likely fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in his next fight. This will be a HUGE payday for Julio...probably more than Ward and Kovalev made in their super fight. For those of you who don't follow the sport, the "problem" with this is that Chavez Jr. is a turd. Not a very good fighter, not a good personality, and very unmotivated (misses weight, puts on awful fights, shows sporadic effort). So what has Julio done to deserve this boon? Have a name. That's it.

 

[dmwalking]

Even non PPV draws entertain fans. Cub Swanson is not a PPV draw, but he put on one of the most entertaining fights of all time. He deserves compensation for being entertaining.

If PPV was the only way for MMA to make money, no other orgs would be making money. How did the UFC survive the PPV blackout?

That said, the more entertaining fighters will ultimately get paid more according to their entertainment value.

 

[Threetrees]

Because every fighter contributes to building a product.

Go try to run the UFC with Conor, Ronda and Jon Jones only.

 

[HockeyBjj]

Because fs1 pays UFC for their prelims and fight night cards in accordance with commercial money made based on cable viewership. These no names still make the UFC a good amount of money and should be compensated as such

 

[screaminleeman]

Because every fighter contributes to building a product.

Go try to run the UFC with Conor, Ronda and Jon Jones only.

Sounds like a porn that would do well.

 

[UseARubberGuard]

the owners created the product, made the investment and takes all the risks... but you don't get why owners get the lionshare of profits?

The owners take all the risks? In a sport where people punch and kick each other in the face?

The concept of being in a sport is that the pay is going to be enough to help circumvent the short shelf life of the fighters, if you can't pay them a living wage, then people are never going to become invested. It's actually in the organizations best long term interest if you pay the fighters better, as it's worked in every other sport.