Sonnen: ‘We never should’ve been able to get our own sponsors’
Chael Sonnen talks about the new sponsor deal with Reebok, saying: “As fighters, we never should have been able to get our own sponsors.”
Chael Sonnen is one of the few who have been in support of the new UFC-Reebok sponsorship deal. “The bottom line is, we’re not entitled to that money.”
As fighters, we never should have been able to get our own sponsors, said Sonnen. No executive producers of a show, whether it’s the silver screen or your television set, allows paid talent to come in and then have outside sponsors. If you watch ‘Saturday Night Live’ and a guy shows up in a Nike shirt, you can bet your ass that NBC got the check for that Nike shirt and had wardrobe put it on that talent. Nowhere in the world does this happen.
As a retired MMA competitor who’s not directly impacted, Sonnen said he’s able to step back and assess the situation with less emotion. He said the UFC’s previous strategy of an essentially free market for fighter sponsorships was created out of necessity, not desire. With the Reebok deal set to begin in two months, Sonnen said the UFC has clearly shifted to a strategy that better serves its interests.
