Fighter Salary is limited

[TMAN29]

After seeing an up and comer like Aljaimain Sterling getting 35 plus 5k reebok sponsorship for getting brutally kod, I took a closer look at fighter salary. Is it worth it being a fighter when unless your a ppv draw or a top 5-10 fighter who is entertaining you will not make a ton of money? The best you can hope for as a non champion seems to be six figure like Cerrone (155k/155k).

Someone like Rory Mac wasnt given the money he asked as the #4 WW in the world.... Interested to see what kind of money Cub Swanson gets after losing his final fight on a 50k/50k contract as dana seems to indicate they want him to be a ufc fighter. Thats the type of guy that will be guaranteed to make more than his currenst salary in another top organization.

 

[Congo66]

Overeem disagrees with you.
Bisping was doing pretty well too before beating Rockhold wasn't he?

 

[Championstuff]

Ufc is dying

 

[Vegesus44]

About tree fiddy.

 

[Cheapshart]

It's not worth it to me. But lots of fighters don't have skills or qualifications to fall back on so they have to fight for what they can get, even if they aren't good enough to make a lot of money.

Such is life...

 

[DarkneT]

All deals are individual

The best thing you can in this game is NOT be a UFC boy that comes from tuf and works his way up
Without given exceptions like Bisping

I thought Reem was MAD for taking that fight with Francis, literally a no win situation
Then I saw his 800k cheque and it made sense
How many times has he fought this year?
That's bank

 

[Paolo Delutis]

Not good enough even for the champs. .for what there sacrificing they should all be making more .. I feel fighters should be amongst the highest paid althetes...if your within a premier league like UFC..Bellator, Glory, One FC..etc..but life isn't always fair or equal

 

[Leone510]

You get paid according to your worth in most cases and just because he got knocked out does not mean they have to go back and adjust his purse. He missed a golden opportunity to win on free TV and he fumbled plain and simple. The knock out is just how he lost they do not get compensated for getting knocked out. Being popular is the best path to getting paid and the best path to being popular is winning by KO or submission consistently.

 

[Spookv]

Not really worth it. But I started watching the sport when money wasn't everything & being called "the best" was all that mattered.

 

[dildos]

About tree fiddy.

This.

 

[justbetter]

Didn't sterling kick up a fuss about his pay about 2 years ago? Complained that he wasn't paid well enough for being "top 5 in the world" and threatened to leave to Bellator. UFC said okay, go look for a better contract. Now he is paid about the same amount, usually on fightpass prelims, and no longer top 5 because ufc have been giving him harder fights.

 

[the_details]

After seeing an up and comer like Aljaimain Sterling getting 35 plus 5k reebok sponsorship for getting brutally kod, I took a closer look at fighter salary. Is it worth it being a fighter when unless your a ppv draw or a top 5-10 fighter who is entertaining you will not make a ton of money? The best you can hope for as a non champion seems to be six figure like Cerrone (155k/155k).

Someone like Rory Mac wasnt given the money he asked as the #4 WW in the world.... Interested to see what kind of money Cub Swanson gets after losing his final fight on a 50k/50k contract as dana seems to indicate they want him to be a ufc fighter. Thats the type of guy that will be guaranteed to make more than his currenst salary in another top organization.

"Worth it" I think is subjective. But looking at other numbers you'll find something like 60% of people in the US make under 40k a year, and the median salary is closer to 25-27k. If a guy like AlJo can fight twice a year, he's making double the 60th percentile yearly income, assuming he only gets the 35k+5k (no win bonus or performance bonuses). The real problem I have with fighter pay isn't what the promotions pay them, it's how they pay them. Having fighters treated as independent contractors means that they are taxed differently than payrolled employees. And usually not in a good way different.

It's great that a guy like Rory can make a living over at Bellator, but there are guys on almost every Bellator card that make 2k to show. That's not worth it in my opinion. I don have a problem with pay that low because I can't see how 2k could cover the cost of living during a 2 month fight camp. $2000 over 60 days is $33.33 a day. I know they get sponsorship money in Bellator but a guy making 2k to show probably isn't raking in money from sponsors either.

 

[RampageFaction]

After seeing an up and comer like Aljaimain Sterling getting 35 plus 5k reebok sponsorship for getting brutally kod, I took a closer look at fighter salary. Is it worth it being a fighter when unless your a ppv draw or a top 5-10 fighter who is entertaining you will not make a ton of money? The best you can hope for as a non champion seems to be six figure like Cerrone (155k/155k).

Someone like Rory Mac wasnt given the money he asked as the #4 WW in the world.... Interested to see what kind of money Cub Swanson gets after losing his final fight on a 50k/50k contract as dana seems to indicate they want him to be a ufc fighter. Thats the type of guy that will be guaranteed to make more than his currenst salary in another top organization.

Mark hunt made 810k his last outing against Lewis and it wasn't a PPV and he's not a champ. It's all about your drawing power and whether or not you can drive an event.

 

[FrankieNYC]

there are guys on almost every Bellator card that make 2k to show. That's not worth it in my opinion. I don have a problem with pay that low because I can't see how 2k could cover the cost of living during a 2 month fight camp. $2000 over 60 days is $33.33 a day. I know they get sponsorship money in Bellator but a guy making 2k to show probably isn't raking in money from sponsors either.

Plus they have to sell tickets

 

[FrankieNYC]

Didn't sterling kick up a fuss about his pay about 2 years ago? Complained that he wasn't paid well enough for being "top 5 in the world" and threatened to leave to Bellator. UFC said okay, go look for a better contract. Now he is paid about the same amount, usually on fightpass prelims, and no longer top 5 because ufc have been giving him harder fights.

Yes & bellator passed on making an offer

 

[Roljo]

Overeem disagrees with you.
Bisping was doing pretty well too before beating Rockhold wasn't he?

Overeem and Hunt are the only examples of this but then again those guys negociated their contracts at the exact best time for them and can sell out arenas in their respective countries.

 

[Congo66]

Overeem and Hunt are the only examples of this but then again those guys negociated their contracts at the exact best time for them and can sell out arenas in their respective countries.

I'd have said Bisping and not Overeem for that really.

Overeem has only fought in Holland for the UFC once and that was his 9th UFC fight but yes if you're from a country where the UFC want to expand to then you're likely to be paid more and to get pushed up the fight card and to get more exposure and HWs get paid a lot more than the smaller fighters. Travis Browne is reported as being on $120k show money.

Most people don't really take up a sport because of how much it pays anyway they do it because they tried it and enjoyed it and they were eventually able to make money doing it.

 

[TMAN29]

Overeem and Hunt are the only examples of this but then again those guys negociated their contracts at the exact best time for them and can sell out arenas in their respective countries.

Yes they fit the criterion I put out. Perennial Top 5-10 fighter who's exciting or ppv draw/contender

 

[TMAN29]

I'd have said Bisping and not Overeem for that really.

Overeem has only fought in Holland for the UFC once and that was his 9th UFC fight but yes if you're from a country where the UFC want to expand to then you're likely to be paid more and to get pushed up the fight card and to get more exposure and HWs get paid a lot more than the smaller fighters. Travis Browne is reported as being on $120k show money.

Most people don't really take up a sport because of how much it pays anyway they do it because they tried it and enjoyed it and they were eventually able to make money doing it.

Yes and no. Referring to average Joes yes. I know a couple of professional athletes one the biggest celebrity to come out of SD. Top athletes know what pays what. The kid from new York and Chicago grows up knowing he can make millions through basketball. I have really talented guys quit mma because of the lack of financial incentive.