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

[usmctanker242]

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

Did you not read these forums a few years ago? Or MMAjunkie or BloodyElbow? There were tons of articles about sponsors screwing fighters over and not paying them over technicalities. Also, lower tier guys often don't have their fights televised.

It might be better now but I remember hearing this all the time about 5 years ago.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

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.

I disagree. If individual fighters were making $40-100K a fight as several have claimed, then a payout of $100-200K a night is lower than what the market would support.

This means that if the UFC just took a bigger bite of Condom Depot and Dynamic Fastener money through increased sponsorship fees, they would have brought in more money for themselves while still leaving the fighters with more money than they are currently getting through Reebok.

 

[Headkicktoleg]

Did you not read these forums a few years ago? Or MMAjunkie or BloodyElbow? There were tons of articles about sponsors screwing fighters over and not paying them over technicalities. Also, lower tier guys often don't have their fights televised.

It might be better now but I remember hearing this all the time about 5 years ago.

IF someone does pay you you move onto the next sponsor that will. Not a big deal. Plus I'd bet they were still making more money with some sponsors stiffing them.

 

[Rational Poster]

I disagree. If individual fighters were making $40-100K a fight as several have claimed, then a payout of $100-200K a night is lower than what the market would support.

This means that if the UFC just took a bigger bite of Condom Depot and Dynamic Fastener money through increased sponsorship fees, they would have brought in more money for themselves while still leaving the fighters with more money than they are currently getting through Reebok.

Certain fighters are certainly worth more than the payouts from Reebok, but that doesn't mean FOX and Zuffa are obligated to give the right to advertise on their broadcasts in order for the fighter to earn that.

 

[Headkicktoleg]

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.

OK well it doesn't belong to the UFC either. Ads go to the channel. So fox should get all the money with that logic

 

[bartleby929]

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?

I was talking about WMMA.

 

[usmctanker242]

IF someone does pay you you move onto the next sponsor that will. Not a big deal. Plus I'd bet they were still making more money with some sponsors stiffing them.

I highly doubt this, but we're both just guessing so no there's really nothing to debate.

I don't think the UFC would intentionally push away good fighters over a lack of pay due to a sponsorship deal, so I'm sure this will get better as the revenues get better. This thing has only been alive for weeks so I'm just shocked at how everybody is condemning it as the 9/11 of the MMA world.

 

[Headkicktoleg]

I highly doubt this, but we're both just guessing so no there's really nothing to debate.

I don't think the UFC would intentionally push away good fighters over a lack of pay due to a sponsorship deal, so I'm sure this will get better as the revenues get better. This thing has only been alive for weeks so I'm just shocked at how everybody is condemning as the 9/11 of the MMA world.

Dude we are talking $2,500. You can make more at a fucking bake sale standing on the corner.

 

[bartleby929]

Dude we are talking $2,500. You can make more at a fucking bake sale standing on the corner.

then maybe they should fight in front of a bake sale.

 

[Rational Poster]

OK well it doesn't belong to the UFC either. Ads go to the channel. So fox should get all the money with that logic

UFC has the right to broadcast on FOX. FOX paid UFC for the viewers they bring and FOX in turn advertise their sponsors and products during that time as well.


Whatever UFC earns and however they earn it with their right to broadcast, it's theirs.

 

[DGT4NOW]

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.

Exactly & ONE Twitter post from Reebok regarding Stitch is hardly evidence of any issues

The first 2 PPV's since the deal started have over-performed & so did the last fight-night
Reebok cares about eyes on the product & so far they are getting them.

95% of fans have no idea or care about any Reebok 'issues'.

There are some fans that care from an altruistic POV & some that like to hate on anything Zuffa does on here & and always any negative voice is louder.

That said, the Reebok deal & implementation has not been Zuffa's finest days, but off of Sherdog & away from hardcores - very very few care

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Certain fighters are certainly worth more than the payouts from Reebok, but that doesn't mean FOX and Zuffa are obligated to give the right to advertise on their broadcasts in order for the fighter to earn that.

I wasn't addressing what the UFC is obligated to do. I was pointing out that the Reebok deal clearly undersold the UFC's value as an advertising opportunity and refuting your point that the Reebok deal is what the UFC is worth. It seems apparent that sponsoring the UFC is worth much more than the UFC is getting from the Reebok deal, contrary to what you suggested.

 

[Headkicktoleg]

then maybe they should fight in front of a bake sale.

I guess they should. Then we wouldn't have any more fights.

 

[Headkicktoleg]

Exactly & ONE Twitter post from Reebok regarding Stitch is hardly evidence of any issues

The first 2 PPV's since the deal started have over-performed & so did the last fight-night
Reebok cares about eyes on the product & so far they are getting them.

95% of fans have no idea or care about any Reebok 'issues'.

There are some fans that care from an altruistic POV & some that like to hate on anything Zuffa does on here & and always any negative voice is louder.

That said, the Reebok deal & implementation has not been Zuffa's finest days, but off of Sherdog & away from hardcores - very very few care

Most people don't care or know about genocide in Burma it doesn't mean it's not an issue.

 

[bartleby929]

not if you go to the bake sale.

 

[Rational Poster]

I wasn't addressing what the UFC is obligated to do. I was pointing out that the Reebok deal clearly undersold the UFC's value as an advertising opportunity and refuting your point that the Reebok deal is what the UFC is worth. It seems apparent that sponsoring the UFC is worth much more than the UFC is getting from the Reebok deal, contrary to what you suggested.

UFC is never going to be able to fully monetize the value of their advertising space when there were dozens of conflicting sponsors advertising every event. They were really getting exploited. A lot of sponsors were buying space on all fights on a card, sometimes on both size of cage. Essentially buying 4 hours of advertising for only like $100K per year plus a few grand per fighter.

Within the next year UFC will be announcing more partnerships.

 

[DGT4NOW]

OK well it doesn't belong to the UFC either. Ads go to the channel. So fox should get all the money with that logic

UFC as the producer of an event has absolute rights to any/all wardrobe & embedded logos on their events/shows.

Fox as the buyer & broadcaster has final say & obviously a lot of influence.

When you watch a baseball game on Fox, the station doesn't sell the advertising around the stadium (that you see on the stands, billboards, etc.)

 

[ForbiddenSun]

WMMA is. the end game of WMMA is ugly.

 

[MotorcycleMir]

Absolutely not. It really isn't that big of a deal and modern mma fans who obsess about every little thing blow it out of proportion. Having wayyy too many cards (4 in the span of a week) is a much bigger mistake and oversaturation will hurt the ufc a lot more than what shorts the fighters wear

 

[bartleby929]

Absolutely not. It really isn't that big of a deal and modern mma fans who obsess about every little thing blow it out of proportion. Having wayyy too many cards (4 in the span of a week) is a much bigger mistake and oversaturation will hurt the ufc a lot more than what shorts the fighters wear

oversaturation is good. it's called exposure.