The Sports Business Journal reports on the narrative on fighter pay in this week’s article. The article does not go into specifics on salary but highlights the UFC’s viewpoint of the issue.
SBJ quotes Lawrence Epstein regarding the UFC’s side of the story. The UFC exec stated that three primary factors have contributed to the focus on fighter pay. The first being Jake Paul’s assault on the issue in the media. The second being fighters going public with their contract negotiations and an overarching belief in broader societal shifts in America where workers are demanding higher salaries.
Epstein highlights the UFC’s taking point that fighters have an opportunity to highlight themselves on the company’s platform for a chance to attract sponsors. It also says that the company “helps fighters land endorsement deals” with its company-friendly sponsors. The article states that two dozen fighters have individual Monster Energy sponsorships, three work with Modelo, two with Guaranteed Rate and one fighter has a Crypto.com deal while another has a Dapper Labs deal.
The article also cites the recent deals signed by Jorge Masvidal and Israel Adesanya as signs that the UFC is willing to open up their checkbook to retain fighters. Notably, those two deals were announced during the week of their respective PPVs.
Payout Perspective: The article itself discusses the issue of fighter pay from the UFC perspective. Notably, actual numbers attached to fighter pay were written in vague terms rather than specifying the disparity. For instance, the article notes that Masvidal and Adesanya received new deals but no money terms were announced. However, one could ascertain (according to the article) that they were making the low to mid-seven figures per fight. The talking point from the UFC that you “can” be the next Conor McGregor or Ronda Rousey if you “capitalize” on the UFC platform remains a constant for the company despite the fact the company has seen its profits increase dramatically due in most to the fighters. Its somewhat laughable that Epstein takes issue with the claim that the UFC only shares 16% of its revenues with fighters. Obviously that number regarding revenue share can be misinterpreted
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