According to a recent podcast by UFC Heavyweight Brendan Schaub, he has lost 6 sponsors due to the recent UFC-Reebok uniform deal. On The Fighter and The Kid podcast this week, Schaub claims that he had made twice what the UFC pays him from sponsors.
Schaub lost to Travis Browne at UFC 181 this past Saturday. Schaub made $32,000 as disclosed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
If we are to believe this to be correct, Schaub would have made six figures with a win plus his sponsorship money. Even without the win, Schaub would be making close to six figures.
(h/t: MMA Mania)
Payout Perspective:
We might see more stories like Schaub’s in the coming months as the Reebok deal goes into effect in July. Certainly, current sponsors may seek to leave the UFC as they might revisit their respective marketing budgets and either find fighters in other organizations to sponsors or leave the MMA landscape altogether. MMA Fighting has an interesting perspective on the Reebok deal from managers with UFC clients.
The obvious concern about the Reebok deal is that fighters will lose money from sponsors without knowing what they will be earning through this new arrangement with the UFC. Furthermore, managers are not able to say whether the Reebok deal will be better or worse than their current earning potential.
Wow ufc fighters really get paid shit even with spomsors. This is a huge mistake by the ufc. What fuck Tards. Fighters will look at other organizations to fight in, this is a key issue to bolster bellator
Sal has autism.
There is never a system that doesn’t have people who get the short end. No system is perfect. That doesn’t mean this isn’t better. Remember it was fans and fighters who complained about sponsors and lower fighters not getting money. This assures them they get money with no effort that usually goes into sponsors. Also Shaub isn’t a low level guy. He is a veteran now and was a contender. He was making good money fighting big names and sponsors paid him a premium for that exposure based on the name of his opponents. Now he will not get big names. Will that money still be there even without rebok? Very doubtful.
Next, if you are worth a damn at all a sponsor can still sponsor you. You can still promote their products and work with the companies outside the UFC medians to activate their sponsorships if it means enough for a fighter to keep those brands and income. No other sports stars can promote their personal sponsors in their sports leagues games. Yet they still have value. There is no law saying you have to use the UFC’s time and space to promote your sponsors and their is no law saying they have to let you. But you can use your own time and the sponsor can create their own ways to use you. Its done with GSP and others all the time.
If you cant get or keep those sponsors then you were never important to them. You were useless and had no fans or prestige. You were nothing but a mule to carry their banner so they can used the one thing that did have value. The UFC brand and you were just the cheapest way to get them in the cage.
Also this is just the start while the old way was played out and declining. Sponsorship deals are not even close to what they used to be and getting worse. However this UFC deal is good for a start and will only get better. What happens when the next deal is bigger? What happens when there is more large brands that jump on board and they have an equal deal for shirts, then another for shorts, another for shoes, etc. That creates a huge sum of sponsorship money that is split among the fighters blowing away anything the fighters got on their own.