What Is Gina Carano Worth to Strikeforce?
by Kid Nate on Mar 23, 2009 9:47 AM EDT
in MMA News
Email
Print
Sam Caplan says she's worth $100,000:
How much is she worth? I’d say $100,000 per fight. That’s fight. If fighters such as Fabricio Werdum and Brandon Vera were compensated over $100,000 for past fights, why not Gina? No disrespect to Vera or Werdum, but Carano is every bit the star they are and in reality, probably much bigger.
If ProElite was willing to pay Antonio Silva $200,000 and Kimbo Slice at least $500,000 for his last fight, then Gina should be worth 100K. Carano hasn’t drawn a dime in PPV, but neither have many male fighters who have been compensated six-figures per fight. But if Carano has proven one thing, it’s that she’s a ratings draw on television.
...
The $100,000 per fight figure is pure conjecture on my part and comes from no inside knowledge. But as long as she isn’t asking for anything above that, I think it’s a mistake not to give it to her and finally make Carano vs. Cyborg a reality.
Zach Arnold rebuts:
There’s a reason why Pro Elite lost $55M USD in under two years. This had something to do with it. Telling promoters to pay Gina $100k a fight because others did and are out of business is purely an emotional, not logical business argument at this point. Gina needs the exposure more than Strikeforce needs the exposure in terms of generating revenue as a fighter in-and-out of the ring. Showtime and CBS is a platform for her to do it on. If Strikeforce can give her that platform and she can make ancillary revenue from it, why should they pay her $100k per fight? Doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy watching her fight or that I don’t think she’s a star — but put yourself in the shoes of a promoter right now trying to compete in a UFC-dominated marketplace where everyone is basically losing their ass financially.
The reality of women’s MMA right now is that until Dana White is willing to make an investment in it, it’s going to be a very steep, uphill climb for the girls in the MMA industry to get paid on a big scale outside of Zuffa.
Personally, I don't really know what Gina is worth to Strikeforce. I think with an aggressive media push behind the fight, Carano vs Cyborg could draw some eyeballs on Showtime.
What I do know is that Gina was in two of the ten most seen MMA fights in U.S. history:
6. EliteXC on CBS (5/31/2008): Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young--- 5.508 million viewers (Aired from 10:09 PM to 10:17 PM)
7. UFC on Spike TV (9/8/2007): Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill--- 5.475 million viewers (Aired from 10:41 PM to 11:06 PM)
8. EliteXC on CBS (10/4/08): Jake Shields vs. Paul Daley--- 5.338 million viewers (Aired from 10:34 PM to 10:44 PM)
9. EliteXC on CBS (10/4/08): Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobold--- 5.171 million viewers (Aired from 9:45 PM to 9:59 PM)
That's got to be worth a little somethin' somethin'.
35 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
And makes what most strippers make on an off night?
Yeah right. Go to some place that will pay you the cash Gina. Fewer people watched AA’s fight against Nelson than Gina’s fight just moments before. She’s easily worth 75-100K per fight.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Mar 23, 2009 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions
In their defense, the night proceeded from a hot chick to a really fat guy.
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
by iiowyn on Mar 23, 2009 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
She’s not going to WEC, and thank GOD! :)
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 23, 2009 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Sloppy argument by Zach
Zach usually doesn’t do this, but sloppy counter argument. Gina was making $25,000 per bout with elite, and that was with a win. Not sure how her win bonus breaks out, but 25gs for the only woman that can headline a card is somewhat ridiculous. Also, to call Sam’s argument purely emotional when the title of the article was called “Random Rants” was simply silly. Its was an opinion piece and the way I see it, it was an opinion based on solid facts. You don’t have to agree, but bring better counter points next time Zach.
by Nick Travaglini on Mar 23, 2009 10:02 AM EDT reply actions
Sloppy counter-argument by you.
EliteXC’s payscale can’t be a basis for anything. they paid Antonio Silva $200,000 for a win. That is so much above markt value that it had no relevence to his real worth.
by AlwaysRelaxing on Mar 23, 2009 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions
bq.What I do know is that Gina was in two of the ten most seen MMA fights in U.S. history:
and 7 of the top 10 fights were on EXC on CBS…I wouldn’t put too much stock in that stat
Seth Petruzelli has two fights in the top 20 most seen fights in the US(3 & 18), where is his 100K a fight (or contract with a promotion even)? Kendall Grove vs. Chris Price is at 11 and Price isn’t even in the UFC anymore. Being on that list doesn’t neccessarily be seen as a sign of value or drawing power, most of the big MMA stars in the US fight on PPV not free tv. Lots of people have seen Carano fight for free on CBS but the real question is whether any of those people would follow her to somewhere else or pay to watch her on PPV and that is still a big question mark.
by who me on Mar 23, 2009 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
It’s playing with the numbers to put Seth in there – people were watching Kimbo, and hoping to watch Ken. When people tuned in to see Gina, and turned off the TV afterwards, we can safely credit those viewers to her.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones
Yes but a heck of a lot of everyone’s numbers on those shows could be attributed to them just being on network tv too. To determine whether she is worth big money you would have to show that people will actually follow her to another promotion on another channel and the big deal would be if she could sell a PPV. What a fighter draws on CBS doesn’t neccessarily translate to big ratings on Showtime or a high PPV buyrate(which is the ultimate goal for Strikeforce). This is a lot more complicated than just being seen by a lot of eyeballs (look at Kendall Grove at 11 on that list, does anyone think of Grove as a top drawing star?)
Would Kendall Grove
have outdrawn Andrei Arlovski?
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Mar 23, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions
If both were on CBS and one was fighting a fat guy, quite possibly. If both of them were headlining a PPV though it’s absolutly no contest. MMA is a PPV sport, big stars are measured on how many people pay to watch them not how many tuned in to a free event.
Not totally. Scott Coker has been quite open that his business model is broadcast, not PPV. There are ways to make money without scrapping the PPV barrel, albeit very difficult.
by Luke Thomas on Mar 23, 2009 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Will you do pay-per-view shows?
How I feel about the pay-per-view business is, we will absolutely be in the pay-per-view business. But jumping in just to jump in doesn’t make sense to me. The platforms that are available to Strikeforce and the fighters now will build them into stars. And once the fighters are built into stars, then we will be in the pay-per-view business.
Is the future of MMA a combination of some fights on network TV, some on basic cable, some on premium cable and some on pay-per-view?
Yes. I think it’s a combination.
http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/02/11/strikeforces-scott-coker-on-kimbo-ken-shamrock-tito-ortiz-da/
I agree that there is more to the business than PPV but as things currently stand big stars are PPV draws because that is where the money is made in the US. Of course a sucessful organization probably needs both TV and PPV but it’s going to take a lot to break away from the PPV business model because of the amount of money it brings in.
She drew more viewers than Andrei Arlovski vs Nelson did
They lost 100K viewers when the Gina fight was over. I think that makes her a draw.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Mar 23, 2009 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions
Comparing Gina’s hotness to Roy Nelson’s giant belly is worth 100k in viewers on network tv, it’s American Gladiator hottie vs a guy who looks like he should be on The Biggest Looser, for casual fans of the sport the choice is obvious. Of course all Nielson tv ratings are taken from a sample of 37,000 homes, so that basically equates to one Nielson family household turning the channel, lets not forget these are all statistical estimates not concrete numbers.
In MMA the top drawing stars fight on PPV and Gina hasn’t done that yet, a true test of her drawing power will be how many people are willing to pay to watch her fight not how many people tuned into CBS. She is definatly worth more than ProElite was paying her to be on CBS but honestly how much is she worth to Strikeforce on Showtime? That is the question.
I wouldn't pay to have her be the only fight on a card
But I would certainly cough up cash to have her on a PPV card. Unless its a ZUFFA card. Then they can kiss my ass
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Mar 23, 2009 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Yes but then you wear your blatant bias on your sleeve for all to see, if Gina signed with Strikeforce she would be great, if she signed with Zuffa you would have no use for her.
I think Gina would be a good draw for a PPV but it’s really too early to tell just how good a draw she would be. You also got to take into account Strikeforce isn’t some super-wealthy organization propped up by investor money they have to put being profitable first and formost if they want to stick around, this is a lot more complicated of a situation than just tossing out numbers of how much people think she is worth.
I think 100K is a bit much….I do think 25K is too little though…maybe a 50K to show and 25K to win is fair with her facing legit competition. I know she’s good for ratings yada yada yada, but Strikeforce’s champions would be none to happy about making less than her. Paying her 100K off tops would hurt Strikeforce IMO….
http://www.mmaforreal.com
This is one of those hard things to tell.
I don’t like Caplan’s argument much because using UFC salaries isn’t very smart, because the UFC is making millions, so they can afford to pay people who aren’t draws more than anyone else, and using Elite’s numbers is also bad because they had no clue what they are doing.
that said, Carano could probably bring in 100k per fight in terms of hype and stuff. American Gladiators being canceled hurts a little, but if properly marketed, she could be worth 100k a fight. That is the major problem with this sport when it comes to non-UFC orgs. There is a price that fighters are worth if they are properly marketed, but is there anyone that can properly market them?
CORRECTION
Gina + Photoshop is worth $1 Million per firght
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones
I’d say she’s worth at least that. She can be a big star. Her last fight gained 1 million viewers, which was more than any other fight, including Kimbo’s, gained.
by michaelgaryscott on Mar 23, 2009 11:49 AM EDT reply actions
She is definitely worth more than what EXC was paying
but 100k at this point is a bit much too.
Unfortunately, for all her star potential…it will all be for naught if a stable women’s division isn’t developed.
Regardless, whatever happens with her, it needs to generate more pictures.
I think what the EliteXC shows on CBS showed was that none of the other fighters on there besides Kimbo and Gina had any real draw to them. The second CBS show without those two simply didn’t do as well. I don’t know if it’s poor marketing or just the fact that Kimbo and Gina have that extra something that makes people want to watch them, but Gina definitely has mad crossover potential, which is what the sport needs. Some friends of mine that are completely ignorant of MMA, and keep referring to it as “that sport that looks like two guys hugging” have no idea who most of the popular MMA fighters are, beyond saying, “That dude with the mohawk,” but they know Gina. That’s definitely worth $$$, especially since she can actually fight too. But how much? I have no idea. I gotta say though, someone’s gotta figure it out, and she needs to get paid! It’s already been too long since we’ve seen her fight.
It’s pretty hard to sit on the outside, and put an exact figure on what a particular fighter is worth or isn’t worth. To make matters more complicated, there’s really no one to compare Gina against. She’s far and away the most popular female fighter and has drawn a lot of viewers on network TV but hasn’t been on a PPV. I sort of cringe every time I see the most seen MMA fights list as support for anything. There’s obviously a sampling issue there.
I’m siding with Zach Arnold here. Caplan using the EliteXC salaries as evidence that anyone was underpaid is completely dubious. Their ridiculous cost structure was what makes them the “now defunct MMA promotion.”
You guys need to chill out on Roy Nelson. He just got robbed by the judges against Monson, and he was stood up against Arlovski while he was working for a sub in side control. So the dude has a terrible physique, he was schooling Arlovski on the ground. Just kick a guy when he’s down. Damn. ;)
Roy Nelson is probably the best fighter in the world who also happens to look like someone’s out of shape dad. I agree that the guy has had some bad luck lately(that’s an understatement) but if your a casual fan who knows nothing about how good he is and you see him walking out to fight what are you going to think?
I understand. Someone has to take up for the big guys.
by Cannon Jacques on Mar 23, 2009 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bloody Elbow
Related FanShots on Bloody Elbow
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
