Fertitta: Reebok money will go up in time
Lorenzo Fertitta: “I think it’s not fair for fighters not to comply with the outfitting policy. It’s a very, very small minority of athletes that haven’t complied so far.”
UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta spoke recently with Jack Encarnacao for theBoston Herald about the Reebok apparel deal. The six-year, $70,000,000 partnership has generated a series of unfortunate incidents, most recently when the UFC fined three fighters at UFC on FOX 17 for non-compliance.
The deal pays out between $2,500 and $40,000, based on tenure and a title fight based structure. Fertitta said that at present, UFC is paying out more to athletes than it is bringing in in royalty payments from Reebok. And he says it is going to go up.
Heck yeah, man, when this thing grows and Reebok actually builds a sustainable business, fighters are going to get more money allocated to that, said Fertitta.
I think we’re going to look back in 10 years, nd look at some of these fights back from 2011, 2012, and go, ‘Wow, did the UFC really look like that?’”
Fertitta also addressed the recent fines, and noted the withheld payments do not drop onto the UFC’s bottom line, but remain with the pool of funds for the Reebok deal.
I think it’s not fair for fighters not to comply with the outfitting policy, he said. “It’s a very, very small minority of athletes that haven’t complied so far. It’s like when you went to school, you know? Some people get detention for being out of uniform. It’s not that hard. Tuck your shirt in.
Reebok brand president Matt O’Toole said the Reebok deal has really exceeded our expectations.
You have some of the most iconic sports personalities today across all sports, said O’Toole. We’re also learning so much about what an amazing sport this is and the potential that this has, not only for people who are training this way or participating in mixed martial arts, but as a lifestyle.
