UFC 227 Fighter Pay compared to Gross Income

[WhuffieCollector]

Salaries as % of revenue in the major North American sports (per collective agreements):

NBA: 50%
NHL: 50%
MLB: 56% (not mandated but almost always near this figure)
NFL: 40% to 55% (depends on revenue type)

By any measure, UFC fighters make a much lower percentage of organization revenues. Add in the fact that in the major North American sports all training, insurance, medical services, supplements, etc. are paid for by the league/teams and it's easy to see why this is an issue for the athletes.

 

[acannxr]

Salaries as % of revenue in the major North American sports (per collective agreements):

NBA: 50%
NHL: 50%
MLB: 56% (not mandated but almost always near this figure)
NFL: 40% to 55% (depends on revenue type)

By any measure, UFC fighters make a much lower percentage of organization revenues. Add in the fact that in the major North American sports all training, insurance, medical services, supplements, etc. are paid for by the league/teams and it's easy to see why this is an issue for the athletes.

The average NBA team is worth over $1 billion.
The average NFL team is worth $2.5 billion.
The average MLB team is worth over $1.6 billion.
The average NHL team is worth over $500 million.

And that's just speaking for the teams, not the league they're a part of.

The reason that these leagues can split that much revenue with the athletes is due to how much revenue is being generated by the league and teams. For instance, WNBA players only receive 20% of league revenue, because any higher of a split would cause the league to lose money and make it unsustainable.

 

[TheChance]

Someone has never heard of overhead

 

[Toco]

Salaries as % of revenue in the major North American sports (per collective agreements):

NBA: 50%
NHL: 50%
MLB: 56% (not mandated but almost always near this figure)
NFL: 40% to 55% (depends on revenue type)

By any measure, UFC fighters make a much lower percentage of organization revenues. Add in the fact that in the major North American sports all training, insurance, medical services, supplements, etc. are paid for by the league/teams and it's easy to see why this is an issue for the athletes.

yes they do, but who cares

 

[FrankieNYC]

PPV 300,000 buys at $65 = $19,500,000
Gate = $2,850,000
Total = $22,350,000

Total fighter pay including bonuses $2,150,000

So not even 10% was paid to fighters. What a joke!!!

Pretty much everything but the gate is wrong.

It is a known fact that UFC has paid 13-17% of revenue in 2015/16
Of course that is low
So use filed numbers that have been reported on instead of faulty math

but thinking UFC gets $65 per PPV & that the fighters only get disclosed pay is really crazy

it is 2018 ... the numbers are out there (& here)

if you want to post that UFC underpays ... 99% including I, will agree
But doing it with faulty math makes your point worthless

 

[chairman11]

I don't understand people that defend the ufc, the amount fighters get paid is disgusting.

 

[jeremyemilio]

I've owned a business. It really is impossible to know if employee pay is a "fair" (let alone sustainable) portion of gross income without an extremely detailed accounting of all income and expenses. Even business owners often mistakenly believe they are profitable until an accountant crunches some numbers and tells them they are spiraling into the abyss.

What we do know is that WME is servicing a massive debt load, especially if you're measuring their debt against their real assets.

 

[baba2008]

Hey TS - why don't you go and open a business, and keep a little bit of profits for yourself (if you earn any) and then give the lion's share to your employees, okay? Every business owner loves giving up as much of their profits as is humanly possible.

 

[jeremyemilio]

Pretty much everything but the gate is wrong.

It is a known fact that UFC has paid 13-17% of revenue in 2015/16
Of course that is low
So use filed numbers that have been reported on instead of faulty math

but thinking UFC gets $65 per PPV & that the fighters only get disclosed pay is really crazy

it is 2018 ... the numbers are out there (& here)

if you want to post that UFC underpays ... 99% including I, will agree
But doing it with faulty math makes your point worthless

Also, it really depends on what a person means when they say someone is "underpaid." I tend to think that it's impossible to underpay anyone absent a desperate employment environment (which isn't the case for most fighters who could find work elsewhere doing other things if they chose) or shady anti-trust sorts of business practices (which I do think there is a case for with regard to the UFC, but it's a complex case and not a slam dunk by any stretch, especially with what we've seen from Belator of late).

 

[FrankieNYC]

Also, it really depends on what a person means when they say someone is "underpaid." I tend to think that it's impossible to underpay anyone absent a desperate employment environment (which isn't the case for most fighters who could find work elsewhere doing other things if they chose) or shady anti-trust sorts of business practices (which I do think there is a case for with regard to the UFC, but it's a complex case and not a slam dunk by any stretch, especially with what we've seen from Belator of late).

Every fighter is different
But as a whole, 13-17% is underpaid

I don't know what is "shady" though
they are pretty much above board in their business structure.
They are just set up as an ATM lol

 

[dns2344]

Don’t believe it’s only 10% but for all those arguing the calculations and insinuating the fights get paid enough are just as off base as TS

 

[dns2344]

There's so much wrong with this post...

1) $65 is the price for HD, and an extremely small percentage of people purchase HD; average price is probably around $56 (based on precedent).
2) The cable company receives 50% of the PPV revenue.
3) The live gate is split between the venue and the promoter, the UFC doesn't receive all of it; based on how ticket revenue is split for musicians, it wouldn't be illogical to assume the breakdown to be similar (74% for the UFC):

4) The disclosed purses via athletic commissions doesn't include PPV points.

PPV: (300,000 * $56) - Cable Company (50%) = $8,400,000 (UFC)
Live Gate: $2,850,000 - Venue (26%) = $2,109,000 (UFC)
UFC Profit: $10,509,000 (PPV & Gate) + TV Deals + Sponsors - Promotion - Staff - Fighter Pay

If we make the assumption that the TV Deals and Sponsors, cancel out the Promotion and Staff expenses, then Fighter Pay would be over 20% (it's much higher due to PPV points for champions not being included).

Pay them less! They’re overpaid!

 

[avillafilms]

complete bullshit

 

[Russie]

I have to laugh out loud thinking back to all of the post on here saying that when the Fertita's sold it would mean more and better pay for fighters. WME examined the pay structure and had no intent at all of coming in shelling out a lager percentage of the revenues. If profits were increasing then sure they would probably tack on another percent or two but don't believe for a second they are about to take much more from what they are pocketing.

 

[CharliePotatoes]

They split the costs of ppv with distributors, so its really like 12mm vs 2mm.

Then you have to factor in expenses such as marketing, the venue etc.

They're still making the lions share but its not as big as you make it sound.

Interesting

 

[acannxr]

Pay them less! They’re overpaid!

My speculative post is hardly something that could (or should) be used as evidence for UFC fighter pay; it was nothing more than a possible estimate for a single event, the split could be higher (say if McGregor was on the card) or lower (no champion on the card), I'd be surprised if the overall average hit the 20% mark.

 

[ClosetVitorFan]

How else is Dana going to have heaps of fake snow in his Las Vegas drive way for Christmas?

 

[TheChance]

Pretty much everything but the gate is wrong.

I just find it hilarious that he completely disregards any type of operating costs, like these ppv's just magically happen.

 

[SHOKASE]

What is this, the money channel?!

Half the people here can only count to 5 so may as well be.

 

[mikesparrow]

Not every PPV buy is priced at $65 as in some countries it is much lower.

They are most countries where there is no such things as PPV (like most countries in Europe and all countries in Asia). Yet there are millions of people watching it on tv. There are commercials all the time. I'm very, very sure UFC is getting money from those channels as well. And it sure is not a few coins.