Corporate Sponsors Open up to Mixed Martial Arts

by Michael Rome on Jan 20, 2009 10:24 PM EST in News Comment 26 comments

The New York Times is really on a bit of an MMA kick lately. With the UFC potentially on its way to New York next year, I expect this to continue. Their latest piece looks at sponsorships in MMA and the increasing acceptance of MMA as a viable option among corporate sponsors:

I think the door has opened," said Bob Dorfman, the executive creative director of Baker Street Partners, a San Francisco-based advertising and marketing agency. "A lot of mainstream advertisers who were pooh-poohing it are looking at it seriously in their marketing mix.

Now that Mr. Evans holds the light heavyweight title, his manager, Jervis Cole, expects him to earn $700,000 to several million dollars in total endorsements in 2009. But mixed martial arts has a long way to go before its top fighters like Brock Lesnar, a champion in the heavyweight division, make the type of endorsement dollars that a star like Tiger Woods does.

That number sounds about right to me for Rashad based on what I know about top guy sponsorships. Rich Franklin's manager also said once that Franklin made about $1,000,000 in sponsorships in 2007.

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The snowball just keeps getting bigger and faster. They also introduced a bill in New York to legalize MMA today – it was on the ESPN crawl, and it mentioned that 36 states already have. Fingers crossed.

by subo on Jan 20, 2009 10:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I have a hard time wrapping my head aroung Rashad Evans making a million dollars in sponsorship money but he did get those Microsoft commercials so I guess he’s already getting someones attention.

by who me on Jan 20, 2009 10:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

His agent is definitely a step above everyone else. He also had Gerber (knives, not baby food) one time also.

Whoever his agent is, he’s doing something different than the people that end up with condom depot and the other nonsense everyone else seems to wear, and it usually only takes one person to break the seal.

by Phildo on Jan 20, 2009 10:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Management/agents does seem to be an area where MMA is really dragging ass compared to other sports. Sounds like Rashad’s agent is doing something right.

by who me on Jan 20, 2009 11:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Zuffa will be taking care of all this :)

by mmalogic on Jan 21, 2009 12:41 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe this will be an end to the Condom Depot.com era?

by Ubernoober on Jan 20, 2009 10:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

There will always be guys on the low end of MMA that are willing to have a condom ad stiched to their ass for money.

by who me on Jan 20, 2009 10:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Tiger Woods?

Find me an athlete in any sport that does as good as Tiger.

by Razreshat on Jan 20, 2009 10:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I know, you could say that about any other star in any other sport. To paraphrase Chris Rock: Tiger Woods would shoot himself if one day he woke up and found that he only had Alex Rodriquez or Floyd Mayweather or Lebron James’ money.

A million in endorsements is more than what some of the top 50 highest paid athletes get in endorsements:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/specials/fortunate50/2008/index.html

by Jahbulon on Jan 20, 2009 10:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Phil Mickelson makes $53,000,000 a year in endorsements???

by Day Man on Jan 20, 2009 10:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And Larry Fitzgerald only makes $250,000. If that number doesn’t increase ten fold next year his agent should be shot.

by Day Man on Jan 20, 2009 10:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He has a 4 year 40 million contract. Not sure if it started this year or next.

by Dropkick434 on Jan 20, 2009 11:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It does, still that’s a LOT of money to be leaving on the table.

by Day Man on Jan 20, 2009 11:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think so. That seems like a lot for a wide reciever that plays in arizona. How many commercials do you see other WRs in? I’m sure that’s near the top when it comes to endorsements for NFL non-QBs.

by Phildo on Jan 20, 2009 11:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hes also the best receiver in the NFL has dominated the playoffs and is about to get exposure on sports biggest stage.

by Day Man on Jan 21, 2009 12:42 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

that doesn’t change the fact that there’s no reason to expect him to get any more in endorsements before this year.

It’s hard for a non-qb to get a ton from endorsements.

by Phildo on Jan 21, 2009 1:02 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And my bad, I thought you meant salary and not endorsements. You are right though, he is probably the hottest player in the NFL right now.

by Dropkick434 on Jan 20, 2009 11:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No one else in sports makes Tiger Wood sponsorship money. In 2007 Tiger Woods made $127,902,706, which is double the number two athlete in earnings(Phil Mickelson). $105,000,000 came from sponsorships.

by who me on Jan 20, 2009 10:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Golf market is a rare bread…

We’re talking the creme’ de la creme’… Guys with shit loads of money and almost always going through one or more symptoms of a mid life crisis.

These guys are the dream consumers.

by mmalogic on Jan 20, 2009 11:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I suspect we’re a year or so away from someone like GSP signing a coca cola deal.

by Michael Rome on Jan 20, 2009 11:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And individual athletes almost always garner more than team athletes, as their staying power as an icon is not tied to the performance of dozens of other people.

by subo on Jan 20, 2009 11:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Screw New York

Bring The UFC TO EDMONTON, ALBERTA…like come on, we would sell out and it would be big like in Montreal.

by Hellrazer on Jan 20, 2009 10:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Best paid UFC fighter gets paid how much?

At this point the best paid are probably Lesnar, Liddell and Couture right?

Do you think any of them made close to 10 million dollars last year? All in?

If Lesnar get a cut of PPV then what would everyone estimate he got for the Randy fight? 1 million? maybe 1.5 million?

Some how I feel that the best paid UFC guys are “only” making somewhere between 2 – 3 million dollars a year. Not that that’s bad or anything. Just for interests sake.
(At this stage it’s not the top guys who should be paid more – its the guys at the bottom).

by rainmaker6 on Jan 21, 2009 2:52 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I agree with you there – a minimum salary is more important than maxing out for the sake of a number.

by subo on Jan 21, 2009 3:30 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Lesnar probably got around 2.5 for the couture fight. That’s what people were estimating Randy got, and I don’t see why Brock would get any less.

If Tito was able to get 6 million in one year, I don’t see why the top fighters wouldn’t have done more than that last year since the company set their own PPV revenue record.

by Phildo on Jan 21, 2009 7:59 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Take this with a grain of Dana salt.

In one of the Dana Vlogs from last week when he was talking to those two boxers from Ireland he said that the most 1 UFC fighter ever made for 1 fight was $4.5 million. Now since the audio is never perfect on those Vlogs I could have misunderstood it but I believe that’s right.

Now he didn’t say who it was that made that but I’m guessing it had to be Randy for his fight against Brock considering he got a brand new contract to come back and the amount of PPV buys that event got. If that’s the new mark for top tier fighters for 1 fight then I’m no longer concerned about whether the top tier fighters are getting paid enough. For me anything above $5 million for 1 fight at this time is pointless that money would be better spent raising the pay for the lower tier fighters to allow them to train full time to ensure that the next crop of MMA stars are coming along nicely.

In every sport the pioneers always got screwed financially. So for this to happen fast enough that any fighter in this relatively young sport to already have the opportunity to make millions is astonishing.

by mattman73 on Jan 21, 2009 11:08 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs