Salary Report: Former Champ, JDS Tops UFC 155 Payroll

[gatch333]

The UFC pay for all travel expenses. Training is normally around 10% of the purse. There not starving.

stop making statements like they are fact, you have no idea what you are talking about.

Just your agent or manager takes 10% way before your training fees if your gym is not your manager. Then you have all sorts of other expenses which hopefully get covered by sponsors so that what you get paid is what you get to keep.

The top level guys obviously get much bigger sponsorships or PPV%.

The reason we know JDS made way more than 400K is the NIKE sponsorship as he is one of the select few who have that deal which was brokered by the UFC.

 

[Flexwave2003]

I realize that most pro athletes make way more than mma fighters, but if they have trouble living on a $20,000 paycheck that they get three times a year then I have zero sympathy for them.

Not all fighters get $20,000 pay checks for starters, you're starting off here with a broad stroke when it only applies to x percentage of fighters. And when you're elite enough to get $20,000 checks, you're not doing it alone. These guys have gyms, trainers, nutritionist, sparring partners etc. all of whom have bills which need to be paid too. And thats not even factoring in traditional living expenses, which add up my nooby friend.

A lot of these fighters are being completely taken advantage of, yet with prevailing attitudes such as this one above it serves only those who look to profit as much as possible off of fighters who are all to often paid as little as possible.

I think fighters need to unionize, and the sooner, the better. Guys shouldnt be stuck with huge medical bills for competing to give us a highlight reel fight where for sure somebody is going to the hospital and will likely be called a chump, can and worse on the internet for weeks and years to come. Paying them a few thousand bucks, which seems to vanish pretty quickly when you factor training and living expenses in just aint cutting it.

This is a hard sport, you do not become successful by taking it easy in the gym. You've got to work your ass off, and pay the price of experience in pain. Its easy to say these cats are doing alright, but the truth is, most of these guys are being taken advantage of to a degree which simply should not be acceptable. Getting hit in the head does not make you any smarter, and over time those blows at up. Pugilistic dementia is not something to easily write off, and what these guys are doing out there deserves the utmost respect. A long career in combat sports could have very serious and life altering consequences. As a result, I fully support better fighter treatment and pay.

 

[wlu29]

Do i get paid 40 grand times 3 or 40 grand once? You can afford more expenses with 3 times the salary..

how long are you expected to be able to do your job?

how long is the lifespan of a typical mma fighter (i.e. how many years will they be getting 3 x 40 grand)?

 

[MMA Fan 505**]

This adresses nothing whatsoever in this thread.. JDS is making a ton of money..

Don't be a dumbass.

You said...

Would they prefer the 40 grand i made last year before taxes??

As if the fact that you make a paltry $40K a year doing something that a lot of people could do is the same as getting paid a paltry amount a year doing something nobody else could do.

If you decided you were worth more than what your company is paying you, you leave, and they fill your spot before you've even finished cleaning out your cubicle.

If JDS wanted to leave, do you think UFC is going to put a call out for resumes and list the requirements as top 5 MMA boxing in the world, ability to speak and understand English, etc?

No. There's a reason you get paid chump change -- you're expendable. JDS and any high level MMA fighter? Not so much.

 

[boomertx]

Not all professional athletes are multimillionaires and paid like the big 3 sports. Many are poorly paid but are living the dream that they might make it big and working toward that.

I was looking at some of the MLS salaries recently and many of those players make 30, 40 and 50K per year. Many more make somewhere near six figures and a few make low to mid six figures. A handful make 7 figures. Clearly most are hoping to improve to the point of signing a better contract for good pay. The same goes for minor league baseball, D League basketball and thousands of boxers. There are very few Pacquiao's and Mayweathers.

No need to think that the UFC is alone in this pay structure. Most professional sports are similar. They pay their stars and hold out the hope to up and coming athletes.

 

[closetfighter]

But they make a kajillion zillion dollars in super secret locker room bonuses.

That Dana doesn't let anyone know about because, as he claims, he's protecting the fighters from hangerons.

It's pretty incredible from a business perspective. You gotta hand it to Dana and their lawyers.

The worst part is this event made $3.4 million at the gate. That's just from ticket sales. Yet the combined payroll was something like $2.2 million for the fighters.

They made more at the gate at the arena than the fighters did combined. You factor in merchandizing, PPV, logos on the octagon mat, and the UFC is making out like a bandit while having to pay the people who make them that money very little.

The UFC contracts are performance based, which means if a fighter hits this mark or that mark, they can make more money, but when the fighter first signs the contract, they aren't able to demand anything, it isn't until they are already legally locked into a contract that they have leverage, but by then, the UFC has them by the you know what.

Only way it will change is if there was ever some hot big shot fighter from outside the UFC who could make demands and have the UFC still want them, but that won't happen. Not even Fedor could have any demands met.

i see what you are saying, but they have way more overhead then just the fighters.

 

[Dbreiden83080]

how long are you expected to be able to do your job?

how long is the lifespan of a typical mma fighter (i.e. how many years will they be getting 3 x 40 grand)?

The UFC provides the platform for them to move up. If they can't move up then they don't stay in the UFC.. You don't make millions by being in the UFC you have to become a star.. GSP used to make 10 grand a fight.. Cain 4 years ago was fighting on pre-lims. This is a results oriented business..

 

[Lead]

Subtract taxes and travel/training expenses and that $20,000 turns into about $5K pretty quick.

They are covered for all injuries they sustain in training and fights though. UFC made them no longer have to worry about huge medical bills. A pretty big perk other orgs have never provided

 

[Dbreiden83080]

If JDS wanted to leave, do you think UFC is going to put a call out for resumes and list the requirements as top 5 MMA boxing in the world, ability to speak and understand English, etc?

No. There's a reason you get paid chump change -- you're expendable. JDS and any high level MMA fighter? Not so much.

Everyone is expendable.. Ask Tim Sylvia or any of the former UFC stars about that.. You have to win to keep getting paid. You have to draw to make the big bucks.. I'm sorry you want these guys to lose and not draw yet still make big guarantees..

 

[gatch333]

At some point we will see a fighter look to promote themselves independently such as we see with Floyd in boxing.

Will he be successful I doubt it but all it takes is one fighter saying they are the star and not the UFC.

 

[wlu29]

The UFC provides the platform for them to move up. If they can't move up then they don't stay in the UFC.. You don't make millions by being in the UFC you have to become a star.. GSP used to make 10 grand a fight.. Cain 4 years ago was fighting on pre-lims. This is a results oriented business..

everyone is aware that the ufc is the best option for fighters, and that fighters are content to do what they do otherwise they wouldn't have signed the contract

having said these facts, as a fan (even with full understanding of market based compensation) can appreciate and sympathise with fighters for not making more for putting their lives at risk for entertainment

that is my point, you are the one connecting what they do to what they do and the comparative compensation

 

[MiXMaster81]

The UFC can not afford to give out crazy guarantees to everyone on the roster that is not drawing.. This is a business not a charity. You want a no name with no drawing power making 100 grand guaranteed a fight? You'd be out of business real fast with that approach. The UFC is not the NFL..

yea we all get that, just saying it sucks, especially for guys that make 20k per fight, fight once, get hurt, and is out for the rest of the year, no bueno

 

[boomertx]

But they make a kajillion zillion dollars in super secret locker room bonuses.

That Dana doesn't let anyone know about because, as he claims, he's protecting the fighters from hangerons.

It's pretty incredible from a business perspective. You gotta hand it to Dana and their lawyers.

The worst part is this event made $3.4 million at the gate. That's just from ticket sales. Yet the combined payroll was something like $2.2 million for the fighters.

They made more at the gate at the arena than the fighters did combined. You factor in merchandizing, PPV, logos on the octagon mat, and the UFC is making out like a bandit while having to pay the people who make them that money very little.

The UFC contracts are performance based, which means if a fighter hits this mark or that mark, they can make more money, but when the fighter first signs the contract, they aren't able to demand anything, it isn't until they are already legally locked into a contract that they have leverage, but by then, the UFC has them by the you know what.

Only way it will change is if there was ever some hot big shot fighter from outside the UFC who could make demands and have the UFC still want them, but that won't happen. Not even Fedor could have any demands met.

And the MGM just gave them the arena for free? Same thing for security? Ushers? Concessions? Support personnel? That's a cool business model. You don't pay anything for the use of a facility. Hell, I can make a fortune. Anyone have the number of the Event Manager for the MGM?

 

[Dbreiden83080]

yea we all get that, just saying it sucks, especially for guys that make 20k per fight, fight once, get hurt, and is out for the rest of the year, no bueno

It does suck but the flip side of that is look at some of these guys with huge guarantees for millions in pro sports that suck and don't even play.. The Yankees got stuck paying a 30 mil guarantee to a Japanese pitcher that mostly played in triple a.. It does go both ways..

 

[Dbreiden83080]

And the MGM just gave them the arena for free? Same thing for security? Ushers? Concessions? Support personnel? That's a cool business model. You don't pay anything for the use of a facility. Hell, I can make a fortune. Anyone have the number of the Event Manager for the MGM?

Don't forget the PPV. Every nickel of that 55 bucks a buy goes right into Dana's bank account from what i understand..

 

[IDGETKTFO]

Well then it's those damn bureaucrats on capital hill then!

Or there worse then a coke head pornstar at spending money wisely.

 

[straight6]

I think Pacman only got 6 million for his last fight. And he has a 200 man entourage that he has to feed.

Anderson made more than that against Chael.

Please, Pacquiao got more than 20 mil in his last fight. He has been making 20 mil a fight for yrs now. Floyd Mayweather can spend more money in one wild weekend than most top UFC fighter make all yr.... cannot even compare top boxing pay to top mma pay...

 

[BadIntentions1]

Agreed. They should be making at least twice what they are currently making. But also remember they have sponsors that are paying them after every fight as well. Also I am sure they got a big undisclosed bonus after this last fight. Even so I think their fight salaries should be more....

So sad that this is all they get.

 

[slick781]

***

 

[straight6]

Cant believe how these pro fighters are making such sh*t money compare to how much the UFC and DW makes. With this rate, MMA will never be mainstream as top athletic talents make tens of millions in their 20s participating in soccer, boxing, basketball, tennis, golf, nfl, baseball, etc (not to mention the sponsor $$ in these mainstream sports also dwarf MMA endorsements). And combat sport career life span can be real short and painful...