UFC Merchandising Agreement - Fighters Get Scammed

[imaycare]

I didnt read everyones post as I not much in the mood for it. I will say though that I have 2 main questions.
1 if a fighter declines to sign this what effect does it have on his future with Zuffa.
2. If a fighter declines to sign this and Zuffa uses his image anyways what recourse do they have on Zuffa.

Both these can create huge problems for Zuffa and potentially lead to many fighters leaving or Zuffas inability to sign fighters.

[Shaun8181]

The fighters are starting to make a lot of money. The top fighters are making millions. Cant compare it to other sports because mma is so new. In 5-10 years top fighters will be getting 5-10 mill a fight..They might be getting screwed a little but the tables will turn. Plus if they really wanted to all the top names could ban together to get things changed..

[imaycare]

I just wanted to make another point which was touched on in this thread. People like Dick Clark had similar deals like this with people who performed on Bandstand ect. Dick Clark made millions off them while they made little off themselves. Dick Clark to this day still owns the rights to so many songs because of this business practice. Fighters signing there rights away for lifetime unless the UFC deems it just to let you out is absolutely ridiculous.

[machine29]

Point is, this isnt a rip off because u dont have to sign it.

Guys who are midlevel/marginal talent, probably shouldnt sign it.

If u are an elite fighter however and know the UFC will forever be your home like a NOG,rampage,Chuck,Hughes,St Pierre, Franklin, Silva, Sherk,Penn, etc

then it wouldnt be a bad deal at all.

U know how many Walmarts and targets and JC Pennys there are in the US? not to mention the ENORMOUS amount of cash the UFC will make once they finish going global?

Like I said, U can still have your sponsorships and wear your Warrior shirts etc. It just cant have your picture on it

I mention once again, how many shirts have u seen that have the actual fighters PICTURE on them? not very many.

U can still start your own clothing Co. and all that.

I think some of u are believing that they cant wear a sponsors shirt or cant start their own clothing line or cant make money off themselves. Thats not true, u just cant plaster your pic or name on some other shirt or merchandise.

Also, with contracts like these, if they do CUT u, im sure it wouldnt be hard to take them to court and have that contract be void. Hell, maybe there is something in it that says as long as u are in the UFC but once u are cut or leave it becomes void. Im sure that could be negotiated if u had a half decent attorney.

[Tdogg926]

But what if you sign the contract and then have a falling out with the UFC like Tito did. Then anywhere you try to go you are screwed. Also what if IN THE FUTURE FAR FAR AWAY the UFC gets major compeltion and it ends up not being the number one in MMA anymore. Once again you are screwed. Point is the whole lifetime aspect is horrible.

[Macedawgg]

Originally Posted by method115

Over 200+ fighters have had no problems signing this contract and there are a ton more that would not a have a problem doing it. So it must not be such a big deal.

Over 200 fighters, from what I have heard and have had sources tell me, have not signed this Agreement. In fact, some of the already mentioned stars apparently have not executed this agreement according to the agents I have spoken with.

Originally Posted by method115

In exchange the fighters will be making more money than they could ever have made on their own. Do you know how many toys and posters and hats and shirts and mittens and underwear and every fucking thing you can sell...In every fucking Walmart! This is not excluding fighters this is bringing them into the giant corporate machine. They are free to give their autograph away they just cannot proffit on it without sharing.

I believe this to be patently false. Fighters, under their own brand, would still appear in the superstores in the form of action figures and the like. The difference being, they would take almost all of the licensing fees. Look at the players associations in the other leagues as an example.

Originally Posted by method115

How does this compare to NFL players deals for little action figures etc??

In the NFL, players get 59% of revenue, in the NBA, players get 57% of the revenue, in the NHL, players get 55.6% of revenue, and in MLB, players get 53%.

WWE is speculated to be around 18% payout to talent. The WWE, however, is not a good comparison because it isn't a sport. WWE is scripted entertainment, an enormous distinction.

Originally Posted by method115

Yup. Its a matter of quantity as well.

IE: How many Team Punishment shirts do you see out there walking around, on sale at JC Penny or other retail locations???

Compare that to UFC shirts that are in every Champs? Or Tapout shirts which are basically UFC approved fight gear? UFC gets them the exposure and the deals in the stores as well.

Tito may make more per shirt, its questionable he'd make more overall though.

If the players had a brand of their own, instead of UFC gear in stores, it would be players gear in stores. Do you see racks of "NFL" t-shirts in Champs or JC Penneys?

Originally Posted by method115

ALSO:

if the fighters get 10 percent off the video game to split.

think of that. That game will EASILY sell 2 million units. Thats a gross of 120 million dollars. fighters will split 12 mil off the game.

12 million divided by lets say 100 fighters would be 120,000 each for doing nothing. say only 20 fighters are offered this deal, that would be 600G's a piece for doing nothing.

Fighters don't get any royalties for DVDs or video games. They are excluded.

[Bnack]

Originally Posted by Yamma King

this is sad and pathetic. i was starting to like dana white again but now im sickened by how he screws over the fighteres. 10% or 20%, that is ridiculous.

Because of Dana White, that 10% or 20% "side income" is now a reality.

Remember when like, 6 months ago, all the fighters got 0% of the profits off this topic? Oh wait, that's because it didn't exist.

It's still a lot more money to the fighters, shit man, sure it's not a huge cut but it's more than nothing, which they were fine with before, right?

People never seize to run with the bad and disregard the good.

[Macedawgg]

Ooops--all of those responses are not to method--sorry. Cut and paste on the code.

[Hamm]

Originally Posted by Yamma King

this is sad and pathetic. i was starting to like dana white again but now im sickened by how he screws over the fighteres. 10% or 20%, that is ridiculous.

if you are willing to swallow all this shit at face value without a real inside source, and without having it explained byt someone who knows contract law then you are just another fickle sheep and nobody, especially dana White cares what you think.

[Macedawgg]

Nice post Hamm.

I have copies of the Agreement, wrote the article, and am a lawyer.

Skepticism of course is always warranted.