Cowboy: Down 60k per fight but will be fine in time
Donald Cerrone: “I think my pay grade with the Reebok deal is, $20,000, or $22,000. So, comfortably, [I’m] saying that I’m going to be losing $60,000 a fight probably.”
When the Reebok deal was formalized, tiers were established: 1-5 fights $2,500, 6-10 $5,000, 11-15 $10,000, 16-20 $15,000, 21-above $20,000, title challenger $30,000, champion $40,000. When things change, there are generally winners and losers. Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone as had 27 fights in the UFC, putting him at the highest non-title fight level.
However, he is one of the most popular fighters in the sport, and he estimates that his current sponsorship is around $80,000 per fight.
“Per fight, yeah, I’m going to take a little bit of a cut, sure,” said Cerrone as transcribed by Ryan McKinnell for Yahoo Sports. “I think my pay grade with the Reebok deal is, $20,000, or $22,000. So, comfortably, [I’m] saying that I’m going to be losing $60,000 a fight probably.”
In positive news, Cerrone is sponsored by Fram & Budweiser, who have deals with UFC and are not going to be leaving the sport’s dominant league. In fact, they may appear on fight shorts.
“Budweiser, along with Fram and others are on board with the UFC and Reebok, so I kind of lucked out,” said Cerrone. “I got lucky and all my sponsors are sticking by me. We’ll figure how to make it work outside of the UFC. No, I’m not going to be making the big money on the fights like I am now but it’s all going to work out.
“Budweiser is a year deal with me, so I guess fortunately for me I’m getting paid regardless.”
“I think the Reebok deal…you know, the first couple of fights, the first year, is gonna be kinda shaky ground while they figure everything out. But I think it’s awesome. And like I said, there’ s a lot of people that were looking for sponsors and who were fighting for $500.
“Now they know – I mean, I don’t know how the pay is gonna work, but I’m sure the UFC is going to send a check, or Reebok is going to send a check right away. It’s not going to be like fighting for pennies again; knocking people out and then calling, ‘Hey, it’s been 90 days, where is my check? I don’t have it. I need it.’ So, it’s going to be good for everybody and once they figure everything out, I think it’s going to be just fine.”
“It’s okay. We’ll just make up for it with the bonuses.”
Donald Cerrone fights John Makdessi on Saturday at UFC 187 at the MGM Grand