No sponsorship fees... leave sponsors between fighters and sponsors. Let them wear sponsors still, obviously. But eliminating sponsor fees, I think, would go a long way in getting fighters some cash/gear (fighters used to use sponsors to get their supplements and training stuff like workout shorts, etc...)
If I was the prez, here's how I'd do it.
(1) I'd let them procure their own sponsors provided they don't conflict with the promotion's sponsors. So if we had Bud Light, no coors sponsorships would be allowed.
(a) A sponsorship fee might go into effect. It would depend upon how much these sponsors had proven themselves willing to pay.Say for example the fee was 100k a year, I would give the fighters a guaranteed percentage of the fee. The idea behind this is that if I were to enstate a fee, I might be able to prevent a company from shortchanging the fighters they sponsor by essentially forcing them to pay their fighters a substantial fee. This whole idea is a big MAYBE though, because I haven't ironed out what I would do for a sponsor who sponsored multiple fighters.
(2) I would only pay a show amount and not a win bonus. So instead of 8/8, I'd pay 14k flat. Instead of 35/35, I'd pay 60k flat. Something along those lines. I believe this might help rid the sport of overly conservative fighters who fight "too safe" just to get their bonus money (which makes sense the more your win bonus happens to be). There would be no bonus structure either. I would just trickle the bonus money down into the purse for each fighter.
(3) I'd have MUCH less fighters under contract, thus giving the fighters I do have a couple more opportunities per year to fight and earn a paycheck.
(4) I would do my best to make sure even the lowest prelim fighter was making 20k per event. I would do this primarily because I would like the fighters to be able, between sponsors, purse and potential bonuses, to train full time. This would make the product better because the fighters and fights would become more skilled. This would make the product more sellable.
(5) if I ever got to the point where my fighters were making heaps of cash, i would make that information public so as to make them appear larger than life. In so doing, this would make them appear more like superstars and less like average Joes. Upon the envy and adoration of the fans, I would try to create superstardom for our most promising prospects by piggybacking their talent onto the shows featuring the established superstars.
