Is the Reebok Deal the Biggest Blunder in the History of the UFC?

And when we look back on MMA a couple of decades from now, is this going to be the point where the UFC's greed became apparent and everyone started to turn on the organization?

Or is this actually no big deal that only the hardcores are fussing over?

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I'm much more inclined to think the former since Reebok has actually had to put out statements on Twitter to defuse customer frustration, and has remarkably thrown the responsibility back towards the UFC.

I pointed this out in another thread:

Now obviously the UFC isn't at the level that the NBA is (no matter how much White will have you believe it), but $70mm for a six-year deal on a roster of over 600 athletes, displayed and advertised on a television vehicle like FOX, is the sponsorship heist of the century, and though it's been speculated, there's nothing to prove (or disprove) that White and the Fertittas didn't have a lucrative side deal that they took to screw over their athletes with this ridiculous deal (despite claiming that fighters get "all of the money" of the $70mm deal, but what other deals were made?).

Other surface reasons why this deal has been poorly received thus far:

1. Poor compensation for fighters.
2. Exclusivity (no other sponsors allowed).
3. Bad designs.
4. Lack of individuality.
5. Overpriced "fight kits."
6. Possibly manufactured in a sweatshop.
7. Poor quality (from an official Reebok product tester)

 

WMMA is. the end game of WMMA is ugly.

 

I couldn't tell you who the official clothing sponsor is of any other sports league and I watch them all at least once in a while. I don't think it really matters much.

 

For those of us who spend no time on twitter, can you provide some of what Reebok said?

Thanks.

 

Same here. The only team that I even know is Oregon football because Nike is so obnoxious about it.

 

UFC is not as big as you or anyone here seems to think.

They got the deal that they are worth at this point in time.

 

Brutal disclaimer.


Thanks again.

 

The bigger blunder would be letting Fedor sign with Bellator.

 

•Reebok delta and UFC logos for fight-focused attitude and brand appeal

 

I like the UFC kits,,the hoodie shirts ar dope, and the champion kits are dope...Most of the other kits are pretty cool.

I think its been good for the ufc, makes them more professional looking, i think in time the fighter compensation will improve..

People just love to hate on everything the UFC does..especially on sherdog

 

It's making money and gaining momentum.
Don't cry.

 

No doubt that for Reebok, this deal totally makes sense. But for the UFC, if the priority was maximizing the amount of money their fighters can make, this deal made zero sense, and the enormous backlash is evident of that.

There's an apparent aloofness/ignorance from the UFC, or something else we're not being told (IE: financial incentive for stakeholders to take this deal). It can't be as simple as wanting the UFC to look more "professional," because although the uniforms are cleaner, they lack in design quality and individuality, and are repeatedly criticized for it.

No problemo.

 

The deal just went into effect recently and it's the first big clothing deal for the UFC. Reebok can't come out of the gate, waters untested, and give each fighter $500 billion dollars sponsor money per fight. It's going to take some time, so yeah, like all major changes there's going to be some growing pains. Only time will tell... wait 5 years and see how the deal changes/evolves, and how it actually benefits the fighters and industry alike.

This day and age people have no patience and it's so often "all or nothing" immediately.

 

I think the answer is yes. This is clearly not the case of a few isolated fighters being butthurt. But I do think their slow movement in taking action over PEDs, the Jones/Chael thing and the handling of Cro Cop are up there too.

 

I just think it devalues the sport in the long run.

 

I think it is. Not only did they throw all their fighters under the bus money wise but the uniforms look like absolute shit.

Instead of seeing the iconic gear the fighters used to wear they've been forced to wear uniforms that make them look like a bunch of Best Buy employees.

 

Explain how having a uniform sponsor hurts the sport in the long run. Looks like it worked for the NBA, MLB, NFL, etc. Why is MMA so different?

Also, there was always stories from lower tier fighters about how they could barely afford to train. They couldn't afford gloves, shoes, etc and now that shit is being provided for free. Also, there's an absolute guarantee of sponsor money. For whatever reason people seem to believe that a low tier guy was guaranteed hundreds of thousands of dollars from multiple sponsors, but that wasn't the case. One of the reasons the UFC implemented the sponsor tax (more of a bond-in than a tax) was to guarantee that fighters would be paid by the sponsors. Do none of you remember all those stories about sponsors failing to pay fighters?

 

LOL where do you come up with this bullshit. I know guys who make more than $2500 fighting in local ammy fights from their sponsors. You have to be lazy as fuck to not be able to get sponsors to be shown on TV. Literally all you have to do is call up a company and say hey you know how commercials cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to run well ill be on TV for 15 minutes can you give me $15,000

 

UFC can't force sponsors to pay them more money and UFC isn't going to get more sponsors if fighters are going to be advertising whatever brands they want.

This is a longterm move to get more mainstream big dollar sponsors.

Fighter pay has increased and will continue increasing as the UFC's revenue increases.

In short, UFC is going to make the old sponsor model obsolete.

Exactly.

Fighters and managers were selling advertising space that wasn't theirs to begin with.

It belongs to FOX and the UFC.

Sponsors were more than willing to buy it. Who wouldn't? They were buying advertising worth tens of millions of dollars for cents on the dollar.

As the CEO of Bad Boy said, free rides don't last forever.