UFC details, defends Reebok tiers
The UFC emailed all 586 current UFC fighters with specifics about the new Reebok deal tiers, and then conducted a media call hosted by league brass.
The UFC emailed all 586 current UFC fighters with specifics about the new Reebok deal tiers, and then conducted a media call hosted by UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, president Dana White and COO Lawrence Epstein.
While there is some fighter resistance, Fertitta said despite considerable administrative overhead “the vast majority” of revenue from Reebok is going to the fighters. Further, these are guaranteed minimums, and the UFC hopes to raise them in time. And the entire effort will cost the UFC millions dollars over the next two or three years, with the returns coming in long term.
Ariel Helwani detailed the key points of the meeting, briefly excerpted below.
•Each fighter can have their own apparel and non-apparel sponsors outside of the UFC-Reebok deal, however, they are not allowed to represent those sponsors in the cage or when participating in official UFC-sanctioned events (e.g fight week activities).
•Every fighters’ kit will be made available online for purchase, however, retailers will decide whose kits they will feature in stores … fighters will receive 20-30 percent of gross merchandise sales.
“Certainly we knew going into this thing that we’re not going to make everybody happy, that’s an impossibility. What we tried to do was get as much intelligence as we possibly could by talking to managers and fighters managers over about an 18-month period and literally creating an entire database of where we felt the market was for fighters who were at different tiers, and we felt like we did a pretty good job of replicating the compensation that they were getting.
“Also, when you look at it from a risk-return standpoint, these are guaranteed payments. They’re not going to have to run down sponsors, maybe not get paid. This money will be paid ten days after they have effectively competed in the event and adhered to the athlete outfitting policy. And then in addition, they get royalties on the gear that is sold with their name and likeness, and in addition they can continue to keep those [existing] sponsors.”
